Joe White
by Yugi's Girl006
Summary: The gang is forced to put on a play. SJ romance. Okay so it's more of an everyone fic only not and it's no longer about the play... I don't even know anymore. COMPLETE! YIPPEE!
1. The play idea

> Raine: I was sitting in Drama class going over my lines when I thought, I wonder what it would be like if Yugi and Joey were here doing this. And that is how this came into being. Granted, I DID end up turning it into a Seto/Joey romance but I couldn't figure out any other way to get the two together AND keep Kaiba in character, ( I don't care if the rest of them are in character, I just couldn't see Kaiba acting any other way then like Kaiba), and I wanted so badly to write a fic on them getting together... I also put a few other odd couples in. Yugi/Yami are also pretty big but the others you'll probably only see hints and short phases of them but they go as follows. Duke/Tea, Tristan/Serenity, Ryou/Bakura (even though that one's going to be a secret relationship). I won't get too graphic, well at least I don't think I will. I guess I'll see when I get there but there IS definitely Shonen-Ai.
> 
> I do NOT own Yugioh or any of it's characters. You'd be scared if I did. And I don't own the play Snow White either. So, now that I've talked your ear off, here's part one.  
  
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"What happened to you yesterday, man? We waited like two hours before they kicked us out," Tristan said as he approached Joey. Joey shrugged.
> 
> "I fell asleep finishing some school paper and by the time I woke up Serenity was walking in the door already. I'm sorry. I must have been really tired," Joey lied. He didn't want to tell them that the real reason he hadn't met them at the Pizzeria was because lately he'd started feeling like a tenth wheel. Yugi and Ryou were the only ones not with somebody at the moment but Ryou'd started spending less time with the group lately and Yugi spent a lot of time away with Yami so Joey was left alone to watch them all and wonder who was left in the world for him. But he would never tell them that he was uncomfortable.
> 
> "It's okay. We were just worried that something bad happened," Tristan continued.
> 
> "Yeah. It's not like you to pass up a chance for free pizza," Duke said coming up behind Tristan, Tea wrapped around his arm. Joey smiled unenthusiastically at them and sat down in his chair as the teacher walked in. The rest of them sat down as well.
> 
> "Okay class, take out your notebooks and we'll get started," the teacher instructed. Joey looked at the empty chair between him and Tristan. Tristan noticed his gaze and they exchanged looks.
> 
> ' Where's Yugi?' Joey mouthed. Tristan shrugged.
> 
> **Meanwhile**
> 
> An alarm was screaming it's wake-up call down the hallway to a room that didn't seem to hear it. Yami is draped over Yugi on his small bed, both sleeping soundly.
> 
> **Back at school**
> 
> "We were up late talking on the phone but I've never seen that stop him from making it to class. Something must be wrong," Joey whispered over the desk. Both boys were looking straight ahead as to not call attention to themselves.
> 
> "Maybe you could ask Kaiba to borrow his cell phone to call him," Tristan said back. Joey looked sideways at Kaiba, who was sitting in the farthest corner from the teacher, with a look on his face that could kill an army. He never liked school that much but he had to go because it was the law.
> 
> "Ask him," Joey said. Tristan looked at him in disbelief.
> 
> "No way, I'm not asking him," he objected...a little too loudly. Kaiba looked over at them as the teacher reprimanded them.
> 
> "I hope that you're discussing the assignment back there. Perhaps you'd like to share with the class." Joey tried to shrink down in his seat.
> 
> "No. That's okay..." he said opening his notebook.
> 
> **Back at Yugi's**
> 
> "Yami?" Yugi asked, muffled a little by Yami's shoulder. "What's that noise?"
> 
> "Hmm?" Yami sighed. "I don't know but it's really annoying."
> 
> "Sound's like Grandpa's old ala...rm...clock... Hey wait! Get up!" Yugi tried to push Yami off him. The shout made Yami jump.
> 
> "Who died?" Yami asked sitting up straight. Yugi slid out from beneath him and scrambled to get dressed.
> 
> "Nobody, I'm late for school." Yami relaxed and stretched.
> 
> "Well if you're already late, why go?" he said trying to hold in a yawn. "They'll make you stay late."
> 
> "Would you rather me have to make it up on my day off or stay a few hours after school?" Yugi said looking at him as he buttoned his shirt.
> 
> "Good point. Tell me how you make out." Yami lay back down. Yugi threw his jacket on and walked over to him.  
  
"Yami, come on. School's no fun when you're not there." He hopped on the bed and sat on Yami's stomach. Yami opened one eye and smiled.
> 
> "You're lucky you're so cute," he said. Yugi climbed off him and he disappeared into the millennium puzzle.
> 
> **Back at school**
> 
> Tristan threw Joey a note when the teacher's back was turned and Joey read it cautiously.
> 
> ' Just ask him. The worst he could do is say no, right?' Jou looked at him crossly, scribbled something down and threw is back.
> 
> ' Then why don't you do it? You're closer.' Tristan looked at Kaiba again and shook his head.
> 
> ' No way.' He mouthed to Joey. Kaiba sent them both a sideways look but before he could say anything Yugi burst through the door, a bit disheveled and out of breath.
> 
> "Mr. Motou, how nice of you to join us. Class started a half an hour ago, what happened?" the teacher implored. All eyes watched as he made his way to his desk.
> 
> "The alarm clock didn't wake us up in time," he said breathlessly, his face slowly turning red at all the stares. Duke raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with Tea and Tristan looked at Joey in confusion.
> 
> "Well since it's your first offense I won't be too hard on you but you will have to stay after class." Yugi nodded and glanced at his friends before he sat down between them.
> 
> "Us?" Joey whispered to him. His face darkened but he didn't reply. Joey saw Tristan shrug.
> 
> "Alright class. We're going to start something new today. The next story in our book is Snow White and I thought it'd be a change if we did it as a play. This class is exactly the right size for the cast and it would bea nice treat for the underclassman to see how mature you guys are. And so I don't have people complaining over who got what role, you will all pick your characters out of this bucket. It'll be completely random."
> 
> "Why didn't your Grandpa wake you up?" Tea asked from the seat in front of Yugi's.
> 
> "He's visiting a friend who's very sick. He'll be gone for a few weeks," Yugi whispered back.
> 
> "You never told me that?" Joey said."I knew what would happen if I did.""What do you...""And since the boys in the back row seem so eager, they can pick first." The teacher walked to the back of the classroom and held the bucket between Joey and Yugi, who was blushing again. He heard a snicker inside his head and bit his lip. They each took a paper from the bucket. "Don't open them until everyone has one. I want to see all the horror filled faces at once," the teacher instructed. She moved the bucket to Tristan, Tea and Duke, then moved on to the rest of the class, only pausing when she reached Kaiba. He crossed his arms and glared at her.
> 
> "I'll pass. I don't do plays," he said.
> 
> "Aw, Mr. Kaiba. Have some fun for once. Maybe it'll make you smile," the teacher insisted.
> 
> "I don't do fun and I don't smile."
> 
> "Well, I don't care what you do or don't do. As long as you're in my classroom you'll do what I tell you."
> 
> "I can easily fix that."
> 
> "Maybe he's scared," Joey smirked. Kaiba eyed him angrily."
> 
> "Hardly," Kaiba responded looking away."
> 
> "No, I think you're scared. Perfect little Kaiba who has to be the best at everything. Maybe we found something you're bad at. Gonna make a fool of yourself?" Joey continued to taunt. Tristan held in a laugh. Kaiba shot Joey a death glare and took a paper from the bucket.  
  
"Thank you Mr. Kaiba," the teacher said continuing on. Joey, and Tristan slapped high fives over Yugi's desk and Tea rolled her eyes. "Okay, class...open them."


	2. The parts

Joey opened his first.  
  
"Snow White? What the?! Isn't she a girl?" Yugi and Tristan looked over. Duke held in a laugh and Tea ignored the outburst altogether. Tristan looked at Yugi and then opened his.  
  
"Dwarf 3," he read. "Dwarf? Hey Yugi, what'd you get? I think I may have yours." Yugi held in the want to retaliate and opened his.  
  
"Queen 2," he said.  
  
"Nevermind. I'd rather be short," Tristan said leaning back in his seat. Duke snickered.  
  
"What're you laughin' at?! This ain't funny!" Joey yelled at him. Duke smiled.  
  
"There are only three girl parts in the play and two of yous managed to get them," he said. Joey fumed inside but Tea interrupted before he could respond.  
  
"I got the third!" she said waving her paper. "Queen 1."  
  
"And I'm..." Duke opened his. "...the King. Cool. I always knew I was royalty and not to mention I got my beautiful Queen." He winked at Tea.  
  
"Thanks Duke. I didn't know you liked me that much," Yugi said. Laughter spread through the classroom and Joey punched Yugi's shoulder playfully.  
  
"Good one Yug'," he said. Duke scowled and shook his head.  
  
The other students were looking at theirs as well, murmurs passing through the room. Kaiba was the only one who stayed quiet. His paper remained unopened on his desk. Nobody seemed to notice.  
  
"Hey Ryou. What's yours say?" Joey called to the front of the classroom. Ryou turned around.  
  
"Magic Mirror," he said trying to be loud but still sounding soft spoken.  
  
"Hey, he got a cool part. Why do I have to be a girl?" Joey continued to protest.  
  
"I said, no complaining. All roles are final," the teachers voice quieted everyone. She started passing out packets of papers. "These are your scripts. Memorize them. Take a highlighter and highlight your part if it helps. We're going to go through Act 1 today. It's short. Read through Act 2 tonight for homework and get familiar with your characters. Some are short, I know. Just try your best to be the best." She stopped at Kaiba's desk. "I'm need to see you after..."  
  
"I have an important meeting," Kaiba interrupted.  
  
"It'll only be a second."  
  
"Between the bells, I'll abide by your rules. Afterschool, I no longer answer to you. You, answer to me. And I said I'm busy." The room went deathly quiet. Even Joey didn't comment. They all anticipated what she would do next. She dropped a packet on Kaiba's desk and flipped it to the last page.  
  
"I think you'll want to reconsider," she said simply. She walked back to the front of the class. "Mr. Wheeler, I'll need to see you too."  
  
"What for?"  
  
" Today will just be a readthrough of Act 1. Tomorrow we'll read through the rest of it and on Wednesday we'll start putting it together with acting."  
  
"Maybe she wants him to cook her dinner," Tristan whispered to Yugi.  
  
"He seems more of the cleaning type," Yugi said back. They both laughed. Joey glared at them and crossed his arms.  
  
"I'll need my Narrator, Queen 1 and the King. Joey, you don't have any lines this Act but you're still in it so pay attention. Then I'll need the Queen two and the magic mirror. The rest of you just follow along." Everyone opened their packets. Everyone, except Kaiba. His little paper sat crumpled up next to the opened packet and he stared at one line on the last page, being careful not to let his fear seep into his expression. That one line was all it took to send fear through the big CEO. 'kisses Snow White.' The kiss itself didn't scare him. After all, it was just acting, right? So what was it? Why had those three little words made his fingers shake and his blood freeze? Certainly he didn't have feelings for the brute blonde. Seto Kaiba didn't do feelings. So why did the thought of kissing Joey both terrify AND excite him.  
  
"I talk to furry animals!" Joey outburst. It was followed by a string of mumbled words too low to be deciphered. Kaiba glanced over at him a minute watching the blonde redden with anger. Duke snickered at him again and Kaiba turned back to the script before anyone noticed him looking.  
  
"Narrator, please continue," the teacher ignored the outburst.  
  
"And Snow White grew to become a beautiful young girl, more beautiful them the queen herself, inside AND out. And one day the queen approached her magic mirror."  
  
"Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the fairest of them all?" Yugi said his line.  
  
"You, my queen, are fair: it is true. But Snow White is a thousand times fairer then you," Ryou responded.  
  
"This made the queen very angry and jealous and she sought out to destroy Snow White."  
  
"What?!" Yugi said paling. "I don't want to destroy Joey."  
  
[ It's just a play Yugi]. Yami reassured him. Yugi looked at Joey who was still angry about playing a girl. The bell rang announcing lunch.  
  
"Okay. That's it for this today. When you get back from lunch, we'll start on Math," the teacher shouted over the noise that had started again. Everyone exited the room.  
  
"I can't believe I have to play a girl," Joey said as they walked down the hallway.  
  
"I'm not too happy about my role either, Joey," Yugi said.  
  
"Well look on the bright side, Joey. You're not just A girl, you're the PRETTIEST girl," Duke broke in from behind them. That started a fighting match, verbal and physical. Yugi sunk into his own thoughts.  
  
/ Yami maybe you could play the queen. Even if it is a play, the very idea of destroying my best friend...it just...I can't even think about it. /  
  
[ No way. I'm not playing a girl].  
  
/ But it's a royal girl. /  
  
[ No deal. You're on your own kid].  
  
"Take it back!" Joey shouted. He had Duke in a headlock on the floor.  
  
"Come on, break it up guys," Tea pulled Joey off Duke. They stood and brushed themselves off.  
  
"If I had known you'd get so defensive I would have just called you a pansy," Duke said.  
  
"Why I outta..." Duke sprinted off and Joey ran after him, Tea in close pursuit.  
  
"Don't hurt him Joey!" Yugi just watched them go. 


	3. The challenge

> After the final bell rang, three students remained in the classroom. Kaiba stayed in the back of the room as Joey and Yugi sat down near the teacher's desk.  
  
"So will this take long? I've got things to do," Kaiba said bringing everyone's eyes to him. The teacher looked up from whatever she was working on and looked at the three boys.  
  
"Oh, I totally forgot. Yugi, you can go. Just don't let it happen again," she said. Yugi gave her a confused look but left regardless. " Kaiba, it'd be easier if you came closer." She stood up and closed the door. Kaiba rolled his eyes and moved to the front of the class but remained standing.  
  
"What's this about?" Joey asked, still unsure of why he was there. "Did I do somethin' wrong? Is this about what I said before? Because I was only kiddin' with him. I don't think it would hurt him even if I wasn't but I still didn't mean anything."  
  
"No, that's...surprisingly, not it. I'm concerned about the last chapter of the play. The queen poisons you and the only way to wake you up is to be kissed by someone who loves you."  
  
"Someone has to kiss me? That's..." and then it hit him. "Kaiba? No way. Can't we just take that part out?"  
  
"That's why I asked you here. I could take the part out, maybe change it a little. I wanted to see what..."  
  
"It's actually the whole essence of the play. Without it, it would be pointless," Kaiba spoke up. Joey looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"What? This is..."  
  
"It's just a play. Or maybe you're not mature enough for such a scene." Kaiba raised an eyebrow in challenge.  
  
"I'm more mature then you are, Kaiba. I just don't like the idea that eight classes of little kids will be watchin' that. You know, your brother's one of them kids." The mention of Mokuba did make Kaiba stop a minute but in order to figure out what was happening inside of him, he needed to go through with this.  
  
"Okay. I have a preposition," Kaiba stated. Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"When don't you?"  
  
"What is it?" the teacher ignored Joey.  
  
"Wheeler and I will say yes to the scene now, but if at any time either of us feels uncomfortable or thinks we can't handle it, we reserve the right to ask to change it."  
  
"I feel un..." Kaiba shot him a deadly look. "I'm perfectly fine with that idea, it's great." Joey smiled nervously and stuck up his thumb in agreement.  
  
"So are we agreed?" Kaiba turned back to the teacher. She nodded.  
  
"Alright. I suggest...maybe that you go over the scene a few times together before we get too in depth in this though. It'll be hard to change if we get to close to the end. I plan of having this whole thing together in three weeks." Kaiba nodded in answer. "Okay then, you boys can go." They exited the classroom and the teacher went back to her work.  
  
"Who are you to say that I'm okay with this?" Joey yelled once they were far enough away. Kaiba just kept walking. "And why would you want to..."  
  
"Don't ever tell me that I'm afraid of something again," Kaiba said simply. Joey stopped walking and watched him leave the school and get into the limo that was waiting for him. Yugi peaked his head in the door and then walked up to Joey.  
  
"So what was that about?" he asked.  
  
"I have to kiss Kaiba," Joey said distantly. He couldn't tell whether he was angry or upset, or neither. He didn't know how he felt anymore.  
  
"Well what did Kaiba say about it? I bet he..."  
  
"No. Actually he..." Joey broke out of his trance. "He's trying to get back at me for making fun of him," he said intensely. "He thinks I'll be the one to back down. Well you know what, Joey Wheeler doesn't back down from _any _challenge. Bring it on Kaiba. I'll show you who's mature around here." Joey raised a fist in challenge.  
  
"You mean you're actually going to do it?" Yugi looked up at him bewildered.  
  
"You bet I am. I'll make sure that he's the first one to break."  
  
"But what if he doesn't." Joey looked down at his friend.  
  
"He will. There's no way he'd let anyone see him kiss me. Even if it is just a play."  
  
**Later that night**  
  
' I can't believe I'm so obsessed with this. It's just a stupid play. Somebody's idea of how love is supposed to be. Love. Just another silly emotion that people think will make them happy. It should be thrown out with every other pointless emotion. Emotions only hold you back. Keep you from being...'  
  
"What are you working on big brother?" Mokuba interrupted from the doorway. He crossed his brother's bedroom over to where the older Kaiba was seated at his desk. Seto slipped the script away and looked at him.  
  
"Nothing important. Why aren't you in bed?" Mokuba climbed onto his lap.  
  
"I couldn't sleep. I had another nightmare," he said rubbing at his eyes sleepily. Seto held his brother close. The boy was asleep within seconds. Seto sighed and carried his brother over to his bed, being careful not to wake him as he let him go. He glanced at where he'd hidden the script and shook his head, before turning the light out and crawling in beside his brother.  
  
**At the Wheeler house**  
  
"I wish I could but I was only supposed to be here for a few weeks. My mother's..."  
  
"Serenity, could you please get off the phone," Joey came in the room. " You'll see him tomorrow after school anyway." Serenity looked up at her brother but showed no signs of giving up the phone. Joey grabbed it from her. "She'll call you back," he said to the reciever and hung up. Serenity crossed her arms.  
  
"That wasn't very nice Joey," she pouted. He was already dialing another number and walking out of the room. Before he could hit the last number in the sequence, he hung it up.  
  
"Why do I feel so stupid about this? I'm just calling him to ask him when he wants us to meet to do this 'practice' thing," he paused and held the phone up to his forehead in frustration. "Maybe because I'm afraid he'll actually WANT to practice. This is so stupid." He started to dial the number again but hung up just like before. Serenity came out of her room.  
  
"I want you to apologize," she said. He gave her back the phone.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't know what I was thinking." He walked into his room and closed the door.  
  
**At Yugi's house**  
  
"Do you think that Kaiba will back down like Joey said?" Yugi asked Yami, who was sitting on his bed while he did his homework at his desk.  
  
"I'm not sure yet. Kaiba's intentions aren't really clear at this point."  
  
"Kaiba's intentions are never clear. I just don't want Joey setting himself up for trouble."  
  
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yami said standing up. "You have other things to worry about." He walked up behind Yugi and wrapped his arms around Yugi's chest and the chair. Yugi looked at him over his shoulder.  
  
"Do you think I should tell them about us?" Yugi asked. Yami withdrew a bit, resigning to just leaning on the back of the chair.  
  
"I think that's entirely up to you," he said.


	4. Insecurities

> "What are you working on? More pointless homework?" Bakura asked entering the room after taking a shower and dressing for bed. He was towel drying his hair when Ryou glanced over, but Ryou just went on working.  
  
"Don't disregard things just because you can't do them," he said. "There are a lot of important things that they teach you at school." Bakura threw the towel on the bed.  
  
"There are a lot of stupid things too."  
  
"They're only stupid because you can't read."  
  
"I can too read! And what does any of this have to do with my reading or not?" Bakura asked.  
  
"I couldn't think of a good comeback," Ryou smiled and faced him.  
  
"Well you coulda done better then that. Haven't I taught you anything?"  
  
"You taught me how to fight." Ryou jumped on him and they tumbled to the floor in a wrestling match. Somehow Ryou ended up face down with Bakura sitting on his back.  
  
"Not very well," Bakura replied.  
  
"Hey no fair!" Ryou protested trying to get out from under him.  
  
"Come on Magic Mirror, you gotta be able to do more then just talk." Ryou stopped fighting back at the mention of his part in the play. He leaned his head on his arms.  
  
"Bakura, do you think love's that easy?" Bakura got off of him and Ryou turned over on his side to look at him, propping his head up in his hand.  
  
"What do you mean?" Bakura asked sitting backward on the desk chair.  
  
"I mean...like... It just happens. You see someone and...you just know."  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that you're in love with someone else? Or that you don't think that you're in love with me?" Ryou sat up straight and folded his legs beneath him.  
  
"I don't know. Just forget I said anything." He waved as if waving the idea away.  
  
"No. You can't just start something like that and then throw it out. What's going on?" Ryou stood up and walked over to the desk but didn't look at him. Bakura turned the chair so he was facing him again.  
  
"Well I didn't mean us. I just meant in general. Like, CAN it happen like that?" He fiddled with a pencil that was on the desk.  
  
"Are you upset because I didn't give you a sappy 'I love you' line and carry you off on a white horse? Then the answer is no. Things like that don't really happen." Ryou picked up the pencil and moved it between his fingers.  
  
"Then why do people think it will?"  
  
**The Wheeler House**  
  
Joey sat on the couch flipping through the channels on the TV trying to drown out his sister's phone conversation.  
  
"No, that's silly," she was saying. She had that goofy grin that always stuck to her face when she was talking to Tristan. The one that every girl gets when they can't get enough of the other person. She was just smitten to death. "Stop it, you know how I feel about things like that," she said, but she was still smiling as if what she was saying wasn't really true at all. Joey rolled his eyes and shut the TV off. He looked at the clock, which read 12:30. Too late to go out and he wasn't tired enough to go to sleep but anymore of his sister's cooing was going to make him sick. He started toward his room. "Joey wait! I want to talk to you," Serenity stopped him. He rolled his eyes again but immediately felt guilty about it. He knew his sister wasn't going to be there much longer and he wanted her to be having a good time...he just wasn't into the whole cutesy love stuff. He sat back down on the couch and sighed. "Tristan? I gotta go...Okay...Bye," she hung up the phone. "I wanted to ask you about yesterday," she said to Joey.  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"I know you didn't just fall asleep and forget about us. That's not like you at all..." she started.  
  
"I fall asleep once and you hold it against me forever? I already said I was sorry."  
  
"Tristan thinks you're mad at him," she continued.  
  
"Mad at him? Why?"  
  
"Because of me..." she looked down uncomfortably.  
  
"No way! Tell him he needs to stop thinking. He always gets himself in trouble when he does things like that. I just fell asleep. That was all. I promise. I'm fine with you and Tristan." She looked up at him and smiled. She wanted to say more but knew that pushing it too far would just make him defensive and upset.  
  
"So you're okay?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
  
"Okay. Good-night Joey." She got up and left the room.  
  
"I'm just fine," Joey said to himself. "I'm in the middle of love central with a sign that says, ' will die alone.' I'm going to be the cranky old man down the street that yells at everyone who passes by for looking at the lawn the wrong way. I can see it now. I'll have a row of lettuce plants, each one named after my friends who've all married and moved away. Yeah. I'm just great." He stood and went to his room. " Well, at least I'll have Yugi. Maybe we can be cranky together." He shut his light off and lay down on his bed.  
  
**Yugi's House**  
  
"What do you think Joey will look like in a dress?" Yugi asked jumping up on the bed beside Yami, who was lying down, staring at the ceiling, thinking. He looked at Yugi and smiled.  
  
"Still thinking about the play huh?" he asked.  
  
"Well yeah. It's the most interesting thing going on around here right now."  
  
"You're still trying to figure out how to convince me to do it for you aren't you?"  
  
"No..." Yugi looked away embarrassed. Yami laughed.  
  
"It really bothers you that much?"  
  
"Yeah. I don't know how anybody could be so heartless. Just because there's someone who's prettier then them? It's so unreasonable."  
  
"It's just a play," Yami repeated for like the fiftieth time that night. Yugi turned the light out and snuggled up beside him.  
  
"I know but it's still not right."  
  
"She's an evil queen. Evil people are never right." Yami brushed Yugi's hair away from his face gently. Yugi sighed.  
  
"Then why do they have to exist? Why can't everyone just be happy with the way things are?"  
  
"Because then life would be too easy and nothing interesting would EVER happen."  
  
"Well I still don't see why I have to be one of those evil people."  
  
"It's just a play."


	5. The setup

> "He did what?! I don't believe you. He woulda told me if somethin' serious like that happened," Joey said not willing to believe what his friend had just told him. Tristan shrugged. They were both sitting on top of their desks, their feet resting on their chairs. Tea was seated backward in her chair with Duke half leaning, half sitting on her desk behind her with his arms crossed.  
  
"Maybe you two aren't as close as you thought. I'm just repeating what I heard," Tristan said. Duke watched Joey for further reaction, amused, as always, at Joey's discomfort.  
  
"I don't believe it either," Tea spoke up. "I don't see him being like that. He definitely would have told someone."  
  
"Maybe he..." Duke started to say something smart but Yugi walked into the classroom causing them all to stop and watch as he walked toward them. He looked at them all, suddenly self-conscious.  
  
"What? Did I miss something? Is my shirt buttoned wrong again?" he said looking himself over. Joey hopped off his desk and sat down in his chair. He leaned closer to Yugi as if telling him a secret or something.  
  
"No, nothin' like that. Tristan just told us that you..." The bell rang, interrupting him. His head sunk wearily.  
  
"Okay class, let's get right on this. Notebooks out, pencils moving, no talking," the teacher said entering. They all took their seats and Joey opened his notebook. He started to write a note to Yugi when a piece of paper bounced onto his desk and slid to the floor. He brought his head up confused and looked toward Tristan and Yugi, but both seemed to be occupied with something. He glanced at the teacher before picking up the balled up paper and opening it. Three words were written on it.  
  
' Meet me tonight.'  
  
He looked again at Tristan and Yugi, this time Yugi sent him a concerned look but still showed no signs of knowing what was going on. He scribbled his note to Yugi and slipped it under his desk, kicking it over. Yugi picked it up.  
  
' Tristan just told us that you have a secret girlfriend that you don't want us knowin' about. I told him you'd never keep a secret like that but anyway, enough about that stuff. Did you see anyone throw something at me?' Yugi blushed and crumpled the note back up, jamming it in his pocket. He looked at Joey and shook his head then went back to his work.
> 
> Joey read the note again, trying to place handwriting but couldn't think of anyone... His eyes stopped at Kaiba. He was busy reading a book that was open on his desk. He didn't look over but held up three fingers, then made a k and an m in sign language. Tristan looked up at that moment and noticed Joey's gaze.  
  
' What's going on?' he mouthed to Joey.  
  
' Nothing,' Joey mouthed back. He opened his History book and scanned over the pages. ' I guess this is really going to happen,' he thought and started his work. The teacher stopped them twenty minutes later, instructing them to pull out their scripts.  
  
"We're only going to get to the end of the death scene. The final scene we'll leave until we start getting the acting together, okay? So. Start where we left off. Yugi, I believe you were up next. Start right after the narrator says the line about destroying Snow White." Yugi pouted a little.  
  
[ It's not the end of the world,] Yami patiently reminded him. He managed a weak smile.  
  
"I'll hire a huntsman to take her into the woods and kill her, bringing her...liver?" he paused as he read the words in disbelief. "...and...lungs back...as proof? That's so cruel!"  
  
"Not to mention disgusting," Joey joined in. "Are you sure this play is suitable for children under fifty?"  
  
"He, well she, in this case, doesn't actually kill Snow White. If you'd done your homework, you'd know that."  
  
"I'm not talking about actually killing anybody, I'm talking about the implying of it," Joey defended himself. A few of the other kids rolled their eyes. The teacher was not amused.  
  
"Just keep it going," she said. They continued on with the play. Joey let his mind wander to the meeting Kaiba had set up for that afternoon. Was he really serious about doing this? It looked like Joey wasn't as sure as he thought he was about Kaiba backing down. ' But he couldn't actually want to go through with it, could he? He was just trying to scare me so I wouldn't make jokes about him again,' Joey thought. ' But what if he isn't? What if he really wants to do this? No way, not Kaiba. He'd never...'  
  
"Mr. Wheeler?" Joey looked up, now noticing that almost everyone was looking at him.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"Joey, it's your line," Yugi said.  
  
"Oh, is that all? Well then, ' Oh dear huntsman, let me live. I will run the wild woods and never come back,'" he said almost boredly.  
  
"You beautiful child. I will let you live, run away," the girl seated next to Ryou said. "The wild animals will soon devour you anyway."  
  
"That sounds healthy," Joey commented sarcastically.  
  
"He cut up a wild boar and took its lungs and liver back to the queen as proof on Snow White's death. The queen was so happy at the news that she cooked them and ate them for dinner," the narrator continued it.  
  
"I...eat..." Yugi fainted, forcing Yami to take over. "Maybe this isn't suited for children under fifty," he commented.


	6. Crazy feelings

> "I need to talk to Yugi," Joey said impatiently as he and Yami sat down to lunch.  
  
"He's still afraid to come out. What's so urgent? Maybe I can help."  
  
"No, you'd just laugh at me." The rest of the gang, including Ryou came over and sat down.  
  
"I resent that remark. I would never laugh at you, especially seeing as how important it seems to be," Yami responded.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Tristan asked.  
  
"Nothing," Joey said. He started to eat his lunch as if everything was normal.  
  
**Across the room**  
  
Kaiba sat with his back to the group, fighting urges to turn around and make eye contact with Joey. Their meeting seemed to make him nervous with every second that it got closer. That, he couldn't understand. He hadn't experienced nervousness since he was a little kid waiting for someone to come adopt him and Mokuba. After the first few rejections he'd decided he wouldn't let the next one have time to think about rejecting them and he'd put everything aside, the expectations, the fear of not getting them answered...he would MAKE them want him and his brother. He decided then that those things only left room for heartache and he was done with feeling let down. He needed to stay strong so that Mokuba would stay strong, and that was that. So why was he even doing this at all? How had he let it get so far?  
  
He stood up and went to leave the cafeteria, pausing at the door and glancing at Joey before exiting.  
  
**Back with the group**  
  
"There's nothing wrong with liking another guy. People say that you can't help who you fall in love with," Ryou was saying. Joey started to join in on defending Yami's confession of Yugi liking another guy (after A LOT of bagering from Tristan and Duke), but he saw Kaiba leaving the room and it made him stop. ' This is really going to happen,' he thought again. ' He's not letting up.'  
  
Duke looked from Ryou to Yami and back again.  
  
"Does this mean..." he started but Ryou saw where it was going and blushed.  
  
"No, it's not me," Ryou objected. "I just don't see anything wrong with it. Um, I gotta go. I forgot I had to return a book to the library. See you guys later," he saidgrabbing his books and rushing toward the exit.  
  
"Does anyone else think that..." Tristan started but was interrupted.  
  
"I need to see you in private," Joey grabbed Yami and pulled him outside. Duke looked at the two remaining friends.  
  
"Maybe it's Joey," he said.  
  
"Nah, Joey's not like that," Tristan said, standing to throw his trash away.  
  
**Outside**  
  
"You could have been a little gentler," Yami said straitening his sleeve out. Joey started pacing in a small circle next to him.  
  
"Maybe next time," he said not really thinking about what he was saying. Yami stopped and looked at his, obviously distressed, friend.  
  
"What's going on?" he asked.  
  
"He's not backing down," Joey said. "He...he...wants to meet me after school."  
  
"Who..." and then he understood. "Kaiba. Really? I never would have thought he'd go that far."  
  
"Well he did and I don't know what to do."  
  
"Well maybe it's not as serious as you're making it. Maybe he just wants to scare you... From the looks of it, it's working pretty good," Yami said smiled.  
  
"I knew you'd just make fun of me. That's why I need Yugi." Yami sighed guiltily.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I'm sure...it's nothing. You'll meet him, he'll tell you to go to hell and it'll be over. Then you can tell the teacher that..."  
  
"No, that's not all of it."  
  
"It isn't?"  
  
"No... I've been thinking about this a lot and...the more I think about it...the more I think I WANT it to happen. Am I crazy?" Joey stopped walking and sat down at a picnic table nearby.
> 
> "I think... Wait, was that rhetorical?"  
  
"Did it sound like it was rhetorical?"  
  
"I think that was rhetorical too. Joey, calm down. It's Kaiba. You hate Kaiba. This play has just gotten everyone confused. I damn the teacher for ever suggesting it. Well not really because Yugi would kill me...well maybe not seeing where HE is right now..."  
  
"You're not helping," Joey looked at him crossly. Yami sighed.  
  
"Maybe you do need Yugi," he paused. "Well let me just ask you one thing. Is it the situation itself that you find so alluring or is it really Kaiba that you're attracted to?" Joey stopped to think about it. He HAD been really upset about the whole ' everyone has somebody but me' thing. Maybe it WAS just the idea of being that close to someone, even under the circumstances. The play presented the opportunity to feel what everyone else around him was, even if it was just acting and would only last a few short seconds. He'd let himself get so depressed that even the thought of Kaiba seemed appealing. So maybe he didn't really LIKE Kaiba, maybe he just liked the IDEA of being with someone. He thought about Kaiba and his whole cross ' I hate the world' attitude, and smirked. Joey had always wanted to find the Kaiba behind the wall. He saw the way he was with Mokuba and knew there was a caring person back there. He'd always wanted to be the one to break that person out... His smiled faded and he looked at Yami who was leaning on the wall waiting for a response.  
  
"I... I don't know," Joey said letting concern seep onto his face. ' Maybe I AM really attracted to Kaiba... But what would that mean?'


	7. The kiss

Joey waved to Yugi before walking through the gate and up to the front door of Kaiba mansion. He hesitated before ringing the bell and looked back for reassurance but Yugi was already gone. He turned back to the door and waited. ' So all I need is one look and I'll know whether or not it's him or just my impatience to find somebody,' Joey thought. He looked over the building and sighed.  
  
"Come on!" He rang the bell again. "Leave it to Kaiba to make an appointment and then show up late. I mean, really, it's at his own house and..." The door swung open and Kaiba stood there. Joey smiled guiltily. He started to enter but Kaiba put a hand up to stop him.  
  
"Don't touch anything," he said harshly. "It's hard work keeping this place clean from mutts like you."  
  
"Does that mean I can't touch the floor?" Joey said obnoxiously. ' Definitely not him,' he thought angrily. He pushed past Kaiba and into the front hall. "Let's just get this over with." Kaiba closed the door.  
  
"I've set up a room down the hall that should make this more...unrealistic." Joey followed him down a long hallway to a room that was set up with a small stage. A glass box sat at the stages center.  
  
"What's that thing?" Joey asked.  
  
"Your coffin," Kaiba said smirking. Joey looked at him crossly.  
  
"Look. I know you're just trying to scare me. No more games."  
  
"Who said we were playing a game? I'm just doing what the teacher asked us to. Besides, if this were a game you'd have lost a long time ago."  
  
"Fine. I'll play it your way. You wanna kiss me so bad, here you go." Joey pulled Kaiba into a kiss that seemed to last way too long, even though it was only a few seconds. Afterwards, Kaiba just stood there stunned, letting the scene become real. He sighed what sounded like a disappointed sigh and turned around.  
  
"I think...that..." he started.  
  
"Don't worry, I'm leaving." Joey stalked off. ' That'll teach him. We'll see who has the last laugh.' Kaiba wanted to stop him but his pride was too strong. He shook his head and went up to his office to work on some papers.  
  
Joey stopped once he was outside the gate and slammed it shut. "You can't play games with me. I'm winnin' this time!" he shouted. He sighed knowing it was useless and walked home. He went to grab the phone to call Yugi but, as usual, it was occupied. He decided to walk there instead. The Game Shop was empty when he entered.  
  
"I'll be right there!" a voice called from the back. Yugi came out a minute later.  
  
"Joey? Weren't you..."  
  
"Yeah, I told you it wouldn't take long," Joey said.  
  
"It's okay Yami! It's just Joey!" Yugi called to the back. Yami came out.  
  
"So how did it go?" Yami asked leaning on the counter.  
  
"Not bad, not good. But I don't want to talk about it. So, what's going on around here?"  
  
"Yami and I were just cleaning the house. We wanted it to look good for when Grandpa came home."  
  
"Maybe I can help," Joey offered. Yami and Yugi exchanged looks.  
  
"Not this time Joey. Last time you helped we ended up spending more time cleaning up after you," Yami said. Yugi gave Yami a ' that was mean' look.  
  
"We're almost done anyway. Grandpa won't be back for another few days anyway so we're not in a big rush or anything," Yugi said.  
  
"Well, okay..." It went quiet a few minutes.  
  
"I'll tell you what. We can meet at Burger World after I close up the shop. I'll show you the new series of cards we just got in that I'm not supposed to know about." Joey nodded feeling abandoned.  
  
"Alright. I'll see you guys." Joey left the shop and started to walk home but took a sidetrack through the park. He sat down on a bench facing the jungle gym and watched the kids playing and throwing sand at each other. He wasn't there long before someone sat down beside him. 


	8. In the coffin

Raine: Sorry for taking so long to get this out. My uncle's dying of cancer and I wanted to see him one last time before he died. I actually had someone else write this for me and I just...read it over... So send out your thanks to my friend Savannah.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------  
  
"I never pictured you as someone to go places like this alone." Joey looked over.  
  
"Oh hey, Mokuba. What are you up to?"  
  
"Seto had an important meeting so I'm hanging out with some friends." He pointed to the two kids throwing sand. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Can I ask you a question?" Joey ignored his question.  
  
"Sure," Mokuba said cheerfully.  
  
"Has your brother always been so...well, the way he is?"  
  
"No. He... He's been through a lot," he offered. "But he's trying. Now can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Okay," Joey said unsure.  
  
"Why the sudden interest in my brother? As far as I know, you don't care why you hate him, you just do because he's better then you. But that, to me, is no reason to hate him."  
  
"I don't..."  
  
"Hey Mokuba! Get over here!" One of his friends called him over.  
  
"See you later Joey," Mokuba hopped off the bench and ran over to his friends. Joey suddenly felt guilty.  
  
"I think I owe somebody an apology. He was only trying to do the play right and I, as always, screwed it up..." Joey stood up and made his way back to Kaiba Mansion, going over what he would say inside his head. He rang the doorbell. A servant answered.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
"Yeah, a, is Kaiba around?" The servant looked him over and opened the door for him to enter.  
  
"He's very busy but I'll tell him you're here. Wait here."  
  
"Thanks..." Joey said. He watched the man disappear up a set of stairs. When he didn't return right away Joey became impatient. He paced the floor a few times and then walked down the hallway to the room Kaiba had set up for them. He wanted to get another look at the glass coffin. He approached it cautiously as if going anywhere near it would actually kill him. It was actually a beautiful piece of work. Whoever he had had construct was very talented, it was perfectly shaped and very smooth. He touched its surface curiously and then climbed inside of it. Someone cleared their throat causing Joey to look over at the doorway. Seeing Kaiba, he tried to hop out of the coffin but tripped on the side and fell to the floor in a thud. He scrambled to his feet as Kaiba watched him with irritation.  
  
"You wanted something?" he asked. Joey rubbed his arm.  
  
"A, yeah. I, a, just came back to... I think we..." Kaiba crossed his arms.  
  
"Sometime within my lifetime please," he said. Joey glared.  
  
"I just came to say I'm sorry...and that I think we should start over. Do the play thing." Kaiba dropped his arms and sighed.  
  
"Look. I was just trying to keep the play real. I hate it when people change things just because they don't like them. The writer wrote it, so only he has the right to change it. But I see how you could get the wrong idea and if you're uncomfortable, I'll let the whole thing rest. I know how hard it is for you to take anything seriously."  
  
"Hey. I said I'd do it. So let's just do it."  
  
"Fine. Get in."  
  
"Right now?"  
  
"No, next year. Get in," Kaiba ordered more sternly. Joey jumped in quickly.  
  
"Now, don't try anything funny while I have my eyes closed."  
  
"Why would I want to?" Kaiba said boredly. Joey lay down and made himself comfortable, but he couldn't stop his nerves from being in ruin. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Kaiba started his lines. "I love you more then anything in the world. You are my most cherished one." Joey opened an eye surprised at the emotion Kaiba had put into the line. It almost sounded like he'd meant every word of it.  
  
"That's..."  
  
"Just shut up!" Kaiba yelled. Joey closed his eye again, the unrequited anticipation sinking in again...and nothing happened. He opened his eyes and looked around. Kaiba had moved back away from the coffin. Joey sat up.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I'll let the teacher know that we can't do it." He exited the room, leaving Joey very confused. 


	9. What's wrong with Joey?

> Joey stood in the empty room feeling as if someone had taken something from him. He had never seen Kaiba back down from anything, especially if it involved Joey, and seeing the almighty Kaiba run from something that he himself had started...it just didn't make sense.  
  
"I should be happy right? I won..." Joey said to himself. But he didn't feel like he'd won anything. If anything he felt disappointed. Not because he wanted Kaiba but because of who Kaiba was. Kaiba didn't let anything get in his way. If he was passionate about something, he didn't let anything stop him from pursuing it. So what was wrong? He sighed and looked around the room one last time before leaving and heading home.  
  
**At Burger World**  
  
"Maybe he got tied up," Yami suggested. Yugi looked away from the window to stare at him.  
  
"Or maybe we're supposed to meet him back home."  
  
"No. I remember you specifically telling him you'd meet him here. It hasn't been that long. Maybe he's finishing up some homework or something."  
  
**At the Wheeler house**  
  
Joey walked in the front door and made his way to his room. Tristan yelled a greeting as he passed the kitchen but it didn't register. Joey was too deep in thought. Serenity exchanged looks with Tristan.  
  
"He must have a lot on his mind," Serenity said.  
  
"We're in high school, what could possibly be on his mind? I told you, he's mad at me," Tristan objected.  
  
"He said he was fine and I believe him."  
  
**At Kaiba Mansion**  
  
Kaiba was busily typing away at his computer, not even looking at what he was typing. He stopped when he heard a door close and his brother's voice carried down the hall.  
  
"Seto, I'm home!" Kaiba turned his chair around as his brother peaked into his room and then took a few steps in.  
  
"Did you have fun with your friends?"  
  
"No. They act like two year olds. But I did run into Joey and he asked about you." The mention of Joey brought back the fear he'd felt staring down at the motionless blonde. Had it really been fear? Did he even feel fear? He shook away the thoughts.  
  
"Well go get cleaned up and ready for bed. Then I'll help you with your homework."  
  
"Okay." Mokuba ran out of the room. Kaiba sighed. He would have to figure out what was going on soon before it tore him apart. Joey was a nobody. A loser who always wanted to be better then he was but never managed to get there. So how had he managed to get under Kaiba's skin like that? He would never admit it but he had felt fear. A fear of getting too close to something that would never be. Something that he wouldn't let happen. Even if he was starting to believe that he had feelings for Joey, he would never let it get to a point where he'd act on them. Even if it went against one of his beliefs. Changing the play was the only way to get himself out of the situation and stop whatever was happening before it became too hard to get out.  
  
**A few hours later, Yugi and Yami walking home**  
  
"I can't believe he'd just forget. Something must be wrong," Yugi said.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine. He's just been distracted lately. This isn't the first time he's stood us up this week you know."  
  
"Maybe he's mad at us because we wouldn't let him help us clean," Yugi said ignoring him.  
  
"Yugi. We'll call him when we get home and..."  
  
"Hey Yugi! Yami! Wait up!" They turned around as Ryou ran toward them, Bakura lagging behind.  
  
"Why'd you have to go and do that? I don't want to talk to them," Bakura scowled.  
  
"What are you guys doing?" Ryou asked.  
  
"We were waiting for Joey but he never showed up. Do you know where he is?" Yugi asked. Ryou shook his head.  
  
"Nope. I haven't seen anyone all day. I've been kinda busy." He glanced at Bakura who rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yes and we still are. So if you don't mind..." Bakura started to push Ryou down the street away from them but Ryou pushed him back.  
  
"Bakura. Why are you always so impatient? It's rude," Ryou said in warning. "So. You wanna come with us to get something to eat? Maybe Joey will show up late."  
  
"I don't know. I'm really..." Yugi started.  
  
"I don't know if I like the company," Yami interuppted eyeing Bakura who just rolled his eyes again.  
  
"I don't like it much either." Ryou looked at him. "But I suppose I can handle a few hours," Bakura gave in. Ryou smiled and looked back at Yami and Yugi excitedly.  
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt," Yugi said.  
  
"Fine. Let's go," Yami agreed.  
  
**Back at the Wheeler house**  
  
"Joey? Are you okay?" Serenity knocked lightly on the door. Joey looked over his shoulder.  
  
"I'm fine sis', but thanks for askin'," he called back. He heard her sigh and walk away. He turned back to the letter he was writing, scanned it over, then crumpled it up and threw it into his trashcan. "I can't do it like this. I need to see him in person." Joey stood up and went to leave but glanced at the clock and froze. "Yugi," he said in horror. He bolted out the door and through the house. "Be back in a few, see you later!" he called not bothering to stop. He sister looked up alarmed as he passed and then looked at Tristan beside her on the couch. Tristan just shrugged. Joey ran as fast as he could to the restaurant.  
  
When he got there and saw that Yugi and Yami weren't alone and already eating, he hesitated. ' They didn't even wait for me or call to ask where I was...' He started to think but shook the thoughts from his head. ' They probably have a good reason.' He entered the restaurant and walked over to them.  
  
"Hey guys, hope I'm not too late," he greeted. They all looked over and smiled as he sat down.  
  
"Thanks God, Joey. We thought you were dead," Yugi said relieved.  
  
"Glad to see how much fun that would be for you," he said a little sarcastically. Yugi looked at Yami as all their smiles faded.  
  
"That came out wrong didn't it?" he asked.  
  
"It's okay Yug', at least I know you were thinking about me," Joey reassured him it was okay.  
  
" Happy you could join us Joey. I was just telling Yugi what Bakura did yesterday when he couldn't find the remote," Ryou said.  
  
"Yeah and they don't really care so let's move on," Bakura growled.  
  
"Well I'm very interested in what you did," Yami said smirking.  
  
"Yami, if he doesn't want you to know then it isn't..." Yugi started.  
  
"Oh but it's very funny," Ryou insisted.  
  
"Maybe for you!" Bakura protested. The four of them started arguing. Joey sat back in his seat and sighed. Suddenly he felt like he'd rather have just forgotten altogether. It was going to be a long night.  
  
**The next day at school**  
  
Joey stood by the entrance in hopes to catch Kaiba before classes started but the limo never pulled up and his friends were starting to arrive. He gave up and walked with Tristan and Duke down the hall toward class.  
  
"So what did you guys do yesterday?" Duke asked.  
  
"The usual. I taught Serenity how to make Texas French Toast," Tristan said. "Where's Tea at? It's not like you two to be apart?"  
  
"She's not feeling too well so her mother made her stay home. What about you Joey? What's going on in your life?" Joey looked over to respond just as Yugi and Ryou arrived.  
  
"Hey guys," Yugi said happily. They all went into the classroom and sat down. To Joey's surprise, Kaiba was already seated in his corner, his nose stuck in a book. He looked at his group of friends who were now talking about a new TV show that Duke had found yesterday, and then back at Kaiba. He stood up to go over to him but the bell rang and instinctively he sat back down, as everyone else quieted and Ryou went to his seat.  
  
"Good morning class. Grab your scripts. We're going to switch History and Reading today so we can get the auditorium before the other classes." She handed the boy closest to the door a stack of papers. "There's been a few changes to the last scene so I'm having Victor pass out the new ending. Make sure you get one on your way out the door." She exited and the class followed her out.  
  
"New ending? I wonder what that's about?" Tristan said.  
  
"Just as long as it doesn't involve me eating anything I'll be fine," Yugi responded.  
  
"Oh you know there's an evil inside of you that wishes you were that mean," Duke said. "I think that queen is pretty cool. I'd love to just be able to go out and kill whoever I wanted..." Everyone looked at him funny and Yugi backed away. "Well I wouldn't eat their organs but..." Tristan hurried out the door, grabbing a paper as he went. "What?" Duke asked chasing after him. "Tristan, I was only kidding." Yugi and Joey received their papers and went after them. Joey scanned the page as he walked.  
  
"Oh, hell. He changed it," Joey said and then ditched Yugi to confront Kaiba.


	10. Rehearsals 1

> Joey scanned the auditorium as he entered to see if he could spot him but either he hadn't gotten there yet or he was hiding somewhere, because he wasn't anywhere visible. He walked across the back of the room and then down to the stage as the teacher tried to get everyone to sit down and listen. As he passed the emergency exit a pair of hands grabbed him and pulled him through the door.  
  
"I don't want to be seen talking to you so hurry up," Kaiba said pushing him against the wall. Joey winced as he hit the wall hard and pushed him away.  
  
"Calm down. What's your problem?"  
  
"Nothing, what's yours?"  
  
"This." Joey held out his copy of the new ending scene. "What happened? One minute I'm freaking out and the next you are. Right after you gave me the whole ' I'm just trying to respect the writer' speech. Now I know you wouldn't just..."  
  
"It's none of your business why I do anything so just leave it alone. And I don't want you talking to my brother anymore." He opened the door and went back inside. Joey sighed and followed a few minutes later. He was getting tired of all this but he wasn't about to give up. He noticed that everyone had gathered on the stage and were setting up for the first scene. He walked over to the teacher, who was telling two of the kids where she wanted them to stand. She looked up at Joey as he approached.  
  
"Can I talk to you a minute?" he asked. His friends stopped what they were doing and watched as the two of them walked away from the group a bit and Joey lowered his voice. "It's about the last scene," he started. She took a deep breath.  
  
"I already changed it," she said. "Didn't you get your paper?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. That's what I want to talk about. I don't know what Kaiba told you but we're not changing it." She gave him an annoyed look.  
  
"You guys can't just keep changing your minds. I know it only involves the two of you but I need to know what to expect and what to set up for. So make a final decision?" Joey looked at Kaiba who was reading again in a corner away from everyone.  
  
"We won't change it again." She gave in reluctantly.  
  
"Fine." She raised her voice. "Class, there's been another change." She walked over to the stage so they could hear her better. "Throw out the papers I passed out today. We're keeping it the way it was." Yugi's eyes widened knowing what that meant and he looked at Joey for confirmation but Joey was watching Kaiba for a reaction, which he didn't seem to have. He just kept reading his book as if nothing had happened. Joey shook his head and hopped on the stage with the others. Yugi went over to him.  
  
"Joey, what's going on? I thought you didn't want to kiss Kaiba," he glanced at Kaiba and lowered his voice when he said the name. Joey just shrugged.  
  
"Forget about it Yug'. It's not about what I want anymore." He walked over to Tristan and Duke who were laughing at the shape of one of the forest trees.  
  
--------------  
  
Kaiba didn't look up as the teacher made her announcement that the play was changing back but he couldn't help the anger that grew inside at the words. What was the mutt doing? He'd told him to stay out of it and now...he'd gone and done the opposite. He wasn't very smart for someone who knew exactly what Kaiba was capable of. But there was nothing Kaiba could do about it right now.  
  
**One Week Later**  
  
"If you will help keep house for us, cook, clean, wash, sew, and keep everything orderly, then you can stay with us and have everything that you want."  
  
"Yes," Joey responded sounding grateful. "I'll keep house for you. I'll do it with all the thankfulness in my heart." The lights faded in that section of the stage and lit up another. Kaiba watched the rehearsal from the back row, waiting impatiently for the final bell to ring.  
  
"Mirror, mirror on the wall who's the fairest of them all?" Yugi asked standing before the piece of glass that covered up Ryou.  
  
"You, my queen, are fair it's true, but Snow White is a thousand times fairer then you," Ryou delivered his line. Kaiba glanced at the clock on the back wall wondering how much longer he would have to submit to this. ' Who's stupid idea was this anyway?' Already knowing the answer didn't stop him from thinking it. The teacher had decided at the beginning of the week that it'd be easier to do the dress rehearsals at the end of the day just in case it took longer then it was planned for. His only comfort sitting there was knowing that the last scene would never be rehearsed. After failing at convincing the teacher to switch it back again, he'd managed to get her to agree to letting the rehearsals be up to them. Her only condition had been that they stay after one day before the play to show her that they weren't going to ruin the play. Kaiba had agreed reluctantly.  
  
"Snow White shall..." Yugi lowered his voice so the next word was inaudible and then raised it again. "...Even if it costs me my life."  
  
"Yugi. I need you to have more feeling in your words. You're supposed to hate this girl with ever fiber of your being. And project EVERY word," the teacher instructed from the front row. Yugi pouted and crossed the stage to the fake house in the woods. He was dressed in an old cloak and carried with him a basket of apples. Kaiba smirked. Even though he wasn't happy about the way things had ended up, he found amusement in the fact that he wasn't the only one who was uncomfortable. Seeing Yugi play a role that seemed to 'hurt' him, if that's the right word for it, gave him a sick kinda pleasure. That and seeing Joey dress and act like a girl. Joey was seated in a chair by the front window, looking out while Yugi knocked lightly on the door.  
  
"I'm not allowed to let anyone in. The dwarves forbid it," Joey responded to the knock. Kaiba's smirk faded. Seeing Joey wasn't even that amusing anymore because Joey was actually pretty good when he stopped complaining and concentrated. And even Kaiba wouldn't spite a good actor. He'd actually even developed an admiration for him. He'd never seen the blonde have so much heart, especially since he didn't like the part he was playing.  
  
"That is alright with me. I'll easily get rid of my apples. Here, I'll give you one." Yugi went to put the apple down in front of the door but withdrew when Joey spoke.  
  
"No. I can not accept anything." Kaiba stood up and exited through a back door.  
  
"What? Are you afraid of poison? I'll eat one half and you can have the other. I just want you to taste the perfection of these beautiful apples I've grown." Joey stood up as the door closed behind Kaiba. There hadn't been one word spoken between the two of them since he'd changed the play back. Not even a derogatory comment or dog reference. He was still trying to decide whether that was good or bad. He knew Kaiba had made some deal with the teacher about the rehearsals but he didn't know what and he was running out of time to find out.  
  
"Joey?" Yugi asked concerned. The bell rang before Joey could reply and the teacher dismissed them all, saying they'd finish up tomorrow. Kids all around him scrambled to get their costumes off and gather their books for the walk home.  
  
"I'll catch ya later Yug'," Joey said hopping off the stage and heading toward the door Kaiba had used.  
  
"Joey! Your..." Yugi was too late, "cos...tume..." Joey was already out the door.  
  
"Kaiba!" Joey called watching the brunette get sucked into the crowd. He kept sight of him and sped up, not even aware of the strange stares he was getting from kids not in his class. "Hey Kaiba! Wait a minute!" he yelled as he got closer. Kaiba pretended not to hear him. Joey finally caught up and grabbed his arm. "I said wait," Joey said sternly.  
  
"I heard you," Kaiba returned giving Joey's hand a look that could kill an army. Joey released him immediately.  
  
"We need to talk," he said.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About the play."  
  
"I'm busy," Kaiba said starting to move away from him. Joey grabbed his arm again, this time not letting go.  
  
"I know but I just need a minute." Kaiba shook free of the hand and crossed his arms, facing him.  
  
"Talk," he said in an orderly tone.  
  
"What are we doing?"  
  
"What do you mean? I thought you were in control."  
  
"I only did what you were afraid to. I know it's what you wanted."  
  
"How could you know what I want?"  
  
"A, because you told me," Joey said a little rudely. "I respected your decision to value the author's work. I thought it was noble. What changed?"  
  
"I don't have time for this," Kaiba started away again. Joey followed.  
  
"You can either accept that we're doing this and give it your best or be angry and immature about it. Either way, in three days...we're on. And you better have a better line then, ' I don't have time for this.'" Joey stopped the pursuit, saying what he'd needed to and leaving Kaiba with his own thoughts. Kaiba chose to ignore him at the moment and just continue on. He wasn't ready to confront his fears yet. He wasn't sure if he ever would be.


	11. The secrets out

> "What the hell are you looking at?" Joey yelled before stalking off back inside. He nearly knocked over Yugi and Tristan, who'd been standing right behind him, as he passed them. Yami materialized next to them and the three of them exchanged looks.  
  
"What just happened? I mean, I've seen Joey angry before, especially after a conversation with Kaiba but never over something as stupid as this," Tristan said. Yami and Yugi looked at each other and exchanged thoughts silently.  
  
"Maybe it's more important to him then we realize," Yugi said quietly.  
  
"What are you talking about? It's a retarded play. He complained about it the whole first week and a half. Why, in one day, would all that change?" Yami and Yugi exchanged thoughts again and Yugi looked down disapprovingly. Tristan looked back and forth between them, waiting for an answer. Yami didn't take his eyes off of Yugi as he responded.  
  
"Because Joey likes Kaiba." Yugi closed his eyes, feeling as if he'd betrayed his best friend, even though it had been Yami who said it. He shuffled his feet uncomfortably.  
  
"What?! Did he TELL you that? Because as far as I know they hate each other."  
  
"Hate is such a strong word," Yami said finally looking at Tristan. "And you know, hating is just one tiny step away from loving."  
  
"Next you'll be telling me that you like Kaiba too. Just because you like other guys doesn't mean everyone else does." Yugi looked up, shock covering his face. That was the first time Tristan had ever acted disgusted over their recent revelation. While he didn't know that the two of them were together, he'd figured out that the both of them liked another guy. But he'd never taken it as far as making it sound like it the worst thing in the world, which is what it sounded like now. Not the words themselves, but the tone he'd said them in and the look on his face now.  
  
"I didn't say it did. And if I'd known you'd use it against me I never would have told you. Don't disrespect people just because you don't understand the things they do or feel. And, just for the record, I DON'T like other ' guys,' I love ONE and I won't have you hurting him just because you disapprove." Yami walked off away from the school. Yugi looked at Tristan to see if he would react and when he didn't, he ran after Yami. Tristan...went to find Joey.  
  
Joey came out of the changing room feeling a little less angry but still upset. He couldn't understand why Kaiba had to be so stupid about everything. He hadn't known Kaiba to be contradictory but that's exactly how he was being. The most confusing part was why Joey felt so upset about it. Why did he care what Kaiba did or didn't do?  
  
"Hey, can I talk to you?" Tristan broke into his thoughts.  
  
"I thought you'd be home on the phone by now," Joey said half joking half obnoxious.  
  
"I know I haven't been such a good friend to you lately. I didn't mean to ignore you or anything but... Please, please, please tell me that it didn't cause you to like Kaiba."  
  
"I don't like Kaiba, who told you that?" Joey said, his heart stopping for a second.  
  
"Yami." Fire lit up in Joey's eyes.  
  
"That was a private conversation! He shouldn't have told anyone..." then noticing Tristan's open mouth. "I mean, no. Don't listen to him. He never knows what he's talking about. He just likes to play games, you know Yami, the big joker."  
  
"You... Kaiba? I... when..." Tristan said suddenly inarticulate.  
  
"Well I'm sure Serenity's waiting for your call. I'll see ya." Joey slipped away before Tristan could compose himself. He could feel the heat rise in his face as he blushed. "I'm going to kill Yami," he said under his breath.  
  
**Kaiba Mansion**  
  
"Seto? Are you even listening?" Mokuba snapped his fingers in front of his brothers face.  
  
"Uh? Yeah. I think it's great that they gave you a reward for the good job you did on your paper," Kaiba said giving him a fake smile.  
  
"Seto...we finished that conversation about twelve minutes ago," Mokuba said perturbed. "I was telling you about the birthday party I was invited to this weekend. I wanted to know if I could go."  
  
"Sure..." It went quiet a few minutes.  
  
"Who is she?"  
  
"Who is who?" Kaiba looked down at his brother confused.  
  
"The girl. I haven't seen you get distracted like this since you were in love with that girl at the orphanage."  
  
"I'm not in love with a girl. I mean, I wasn't in love with THAT girl." Kaiba shook his head. "I mean, I don't know what you're talking about. Go do your homework." He turned around to face his computer so his brother wouldn't notice how embarrassed he was.  
  
"I already finished my homework. I told you I did it in class."  
  
"Well then...go do somebody else's." He started typing to act as if he were working, but not really paying attention to where his fingers were landing.  
  
"Sure Seto, I'll get right on that," Mokuba said but made no move to leave. He just watched his brother curiously. After a few minutes of this Kaiba became uncomfortable and turned to face his little brother again.  
  
"Mokuba," he said warningly. Mokuba rolled his eyes and stood up.  
  
"Fine. I'll leave you to your love letter." He left.  
  
"Mokuba, stop that!" Kaiba called after him angrily. He turned back to the computer and nearly fainted as he read what he'd been typing.


	12. How to deal: Anger and avoidance

> Kaiba slammed the computer closed and turned his back to it. He hadn't even been thinking as he was typing let alone thought he'd create anything that made sense...but this...this was too much. He needed to get out to get some air or something. Between work and...other things, he didn't know what he was thinking any more. Mokuba had just teased him into believing things that weren't true. That was all...right? At the moment he didn't really care. He stood up and walked out of his room and down the stairs. Mokuba had settled in on the couch to watch some television but looked over as he heard footsteps behind him.  
  
"You going out?" he asked.  
  
"No. I'm just..." Kaiba started sarcastically but stopped himself, remembering that it was his brother. He took a deep breath. "Sorry. Yes. I'll be back for...whenever I get back." Mokuba's face crinkled in worry and confusion as his older brother walked out the front door.  
  
' There has to be a logical explanation as to why I've been plagued with this,' Kaiba thought as he exited the grounds. ' Something I know but I'm just not seeing because I haven't been thinking clearly. I wonder if...' He impacted with someone and they fell back to the ground. Kaiba raised an eyebrow and looked down at a very ticked off Tristan.  
  
"Watch where you're going, jerk," he muttered as he stood up. Then he noticed who it was that he'd run into and grew even angrier. Kaiba opened his mouth to talk but Tristan didn't give him time. "I should have known it was you. You're always at the center of everything mean. Why can't you just leave people alone?" Tristan said crossly. Kaiba was about to inquire what he was talking about but Tristan went on again. "Just because you own some big company and wear all those fancy expensive clothes, doesn't mean you should get everything." Sensing that he'd just be interrupted again, Kaiba crossed his arms and just waited. He didn't wait long. "I mean, sure money can get you a lot of things but it doesn't get you anything that you really need. So just because you have it doesn't mean...doesn't mean...it doesn't mean that you can take...oh forget it. You're not worth my time," Tristan waved a hand as if it would cause Kaiba to vanish and stormed off in the direction he'd been heading. Kaiba took a slow breath in concentration, shook his head, dropped his arms, and continued on. ' Well that was odd...but not surprising. I knew he'd go crazy one day. I mean, who could...' Kaiba shook his head again to get rid of the thoughts. ' I've got more important things to think about.' He detoured into the park.  
  
**At the Game Shop**  
  
"Thanks ma'am. Have a nice day," Yugi smiled as he watched her leave the store. As soon as the door closed behind her his face fell into a frown. "I still can't believe you told him. Joey's never going to talk to us again now because..." Another customer entered the store and Yugi quickly put on his smile again. "Good afternoon," he said sweetly. The man started looking around. Yami opened the door to enter the house part of the shop but Yugi's voice burst into his head. ' We're not done you know.' Yami just smiled and went inside. "Do you need help with anything, sir?"  
  
' You know I wouldn't do something like that if I didn't think it would benefit Joey. It may not look like it now, but in the end...things will work out for the better,' Yami responded through their link. Yugi opened the door behind him and came inside.  
  
"But what if Tristan never talks to him again? I couldn't live with that."  
  
"Well if he doesn't then he wasn't a very good friend and Joey doesn't need him hanging around anyway. Besides, he didn't stop hanging out with us. It's harder for him to accept it when it's his best friend but, he'll get over it and it'll be fine. Anyway, it's not like anything will actually happen because you know Kaiba would never feel the same way."  
  
"You really know how to make people feel better," Yugi said sarcastically. "Now not only did you make Tristan upset...you did it for no reason at all."  
  
**Tristan, approaching the Wheeler house**  
  
"Alright. I'll knock, get Serenity and we'll be out of there." He knocked on the door. "Why did Joey have to do this? I mean, Kaiba? I'd be okay if it were anybody else, even another guy, but... No. It had to work out like this. Leave it to..." The door opened and Joey stood there. " ...Joey, hi. I'm here to pick up Serenity."  
  
"She's in the shower but she said she'd only be a few minutes," Joey said opening the door to let him enter. Tristan hesitated but went on inside.  
  
"So..." he said uncomfortably. Joey closed the door and brushed a hand through his hair.  
  
"So where you going tonight? Anywhere special?" Joey asked.  
  
"I'm not really sure. We just go wherever we end up."  
  
"Oh... Well there's this place over..." Tristan cut him off.  
  
"Look Joey. I want to pretend that everything's normal but I know it's not and..."  
  
The phone started to ring.  
  
"Hold that thought," Joey held up a hand to keep him there and went to go answer the phone.  
  
"You've reached the Wheeler residence, Joey Wheeler speakin', how can I help you?"  
  
"Joey?" a very timid and confused voice responded.  
  
"Yeah? Who is this?" The phone clicked as the other person hung up. Joey looked at the phone a little confused himself and threw it back into its holder, then went out to finish with Tristan. "Sorry, I..."  
  
"I'm all set," Serenity said, cheerfully coming out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go. She kissed Tristan on the cheek in greeting and then wrapped around his arm.  
  
"Good. Let's go." Tristan led her out of the house.  
  
"Don't keep her out too late," Joey said as the door closed. He sighed. What had he gotten himself into this time? "I need to go have a little chat with Yami." Joey said grabbing his jacket.


	13. Rehearsals 2

The next day at school was uncomfortable for all of them. Tristan wasn't talking to Joey and Joey wasn't talking to Yami...or Yugi, and Duke and Tea were so out of the loop that they didn't know who to ask what was going on first so they chose not to ask at all. Ryou, on the other hand, tried, and got no response. When Kaiba entered the room, not only did Tristan's mood seem to drop, the air seemed to thicken. Trying to ignore the glare from Tristan, Kaiba approached Joey's desk. Joey looked up a little surprised.  
  
"We're meeting after school," he said and then went to his desk. Tristan watched disapprovingly and Joey sighed knowing it had probably made things worse. He looked at Yugi who smiled warily.  
  
"I'm sorry Yug'. I didn't mean to call you or Yami a liar. Things like this are hard to deal with when you don't understand them."  
  
"It's okay Joey. I know you didn't mean it."  
  
"So we're okay?"  
  
"I never thought we weren't," Yugi smiled. Joey looked over at Kaiba for a second then back at Yugi.  
  
"So do you think I should tell him?"  
  
"Joey, it's a lost cause. He'll just use it against you later," he said. Joey looked at him and lowered his voice so Kaiba wouldn't over hear.  
  
"You always sound so sure about that. I'm tired of people giving up on him so easily. Just because he talks big, doesn't make him any bigger then anyone else. I know it's hard to understand but I know what it feels like to be where he is and all I needed was to know that I had friends. Maybe that's all he needs too."  
  
"As if he'd ever admit to having any," Tristan said contemptuously. Yugi and Joey both looked at him surprised. "What? I can't comment on the conversation?"  
  
"No, you can...it's just that..." Tristan sighed.  
  
"I'm sorry Joey. I shouldn't care about who you think you like or not. But just because you like him doesn't mean I have to and trust me, I don't." Joey smiled.  
  
"Thanks Tristan."  
  
Class started and the day went by as usual. When the final bell rang Joey said good-bye to his friends and walked over to Kaiba, who was still seated in the last row of the auditorium.  
  
"Let me just change..."  
  
"No need. We're here to practice," Kaiba said standing up. That's when Joey noticed the teacher watching them expectantly. Kaiba went into the changing room and Joey went over to the teacher.  
  
"Practicing?" he asked.  
  
"I had two of the boys bring out the coffin before they left. It's not done yet but it's finished enough to use. If you boys have been practicing as much as you should have, this won't take long." She pointed to a wooden box that was now sitting at center stage. Before Joey could say anything back, Kaiba came out of the dressing room wearing his Prince's costume. Joey fought the urge to burst out laughing and climbed up on stage.  
  
"If you say anything to anyone, you die," Kaiba said as he approached.  
  
"It doesn't matter. Everyone will see it in two days anyway. Unless you plan on changing your face or something, which I don't recommend. I would like to know what's going on."  
  
"Are you that dumb that you can't figure it out?" Joey hesitated.  
  
"Actually yeah. I think I am." Kaiba rolled his eyes.  
  
"Just get in the box and play dead." Joey listened and the scene went as it was meant to. When it came time for the kiss, Kaiba leaned in close enough so that it looked like he was kissing the princess but never actually came anywhere near. Joey fought the urge to force it out of him but didn't want to risk making him uncomfortable. "Whatever you're thinking, stop," Kaiba whispered as he pulled back away. Joey sat up in the coffin and smiled a fake happy smile.  
  
"Good heaven's, where am I?" he asked.  
  
"You are with me," Kaiba responded. "I love you more then anything in the world. Come to my father's castle and you shall become my wife." He helped Joey out of the coffin. "And we can put an end to the woman who has been so cruel to you." Joey looked into his eyes and smiled again.  
  
"I will be forever yours," he said. Kaiba looked away from him and took a few steps back.  
  
"Okay. That was good. You boys really did your homework. I'll see you tomorrow in class." The teacher said. She headed for the exit. Kaiba started toward the changing room as if he couldn't get there fast enough. Joey followed.  
  
"Hey wait. I want to say something to you..." he said. Kaiba turned around to look at him but couldn't make eye contact. Seeing that he had Kaiba's full attention, Joey withdrew having second thoughts. "You do a great job for someone who tried so hard not to be in this," he said instead. Kaiba met his eyes.  
  
"You're not so bad yourself..." then decided that complimenting him wasn't that good of an idea. "...but if you mention any of this to anyone..."  
  
"I know, I know, you'll kill me. What are you so worried about? I'm playing the girl. It's not as if your ego has been destroyed. It's a play and anyone who's smart will never see it as anything else."  
  
"There aren't too many smart people in eighth grade," Kaiba said dully. Joey smiled.  
  
"There aren't too many smart people in twelfth grade either but with the exception of Yugi, they all know it's just a play." Kaiba smiled on the inside but wouldn't let it show on his face. "But I think... In order to convince the audience that it really is acting, I think it would be more affective if you actually DID what's written down on the paper. Pretending just makes it seem like you have something to hide." Joey took a step closer to him almost in challenge. "And you don't, right? So...it shouldn't be that hard." Kaiba responded by entering the changing room. 


	14. The play

> > Joey looked out nervously as the underclassman were led into the auditorium and seated. The last two days had gone by so fast he could barely recall anything that had happened. Kaiba had seemed to be avoiding him again, except for a glance every now and then but nothing to indicate that Kaiba had taken the bait. But now it was just a matter of getting through the rest of the play. Yugi pulled him away from the curtain and back into the back stage room.  
  
"I can't do this," he said. "Did you see all those people?"  
  
"So. You've dueled in tournaments with more people then that watching you."  
  
"That's different."  
  
"Yug' you'll be fine." He walked them over to the rest of the group. Duke was playing a dice game with Tea and Tristan was asking Ryou if he'd seen his hat.  
  
"How can you play games at a time like this?" Yugi asked watching Duke and Tea. They didn't look over at him.  
  
"It helps make this seem more like a normal everyday thing," Duke said.  
  
"Yeah. Relieves the stress a little," Tea added.  
  
"Stress?" Yugi exclaimed. "You on stage for like five seconds and then you die. You don't even have any lines!" Tea looked at him crossly.  
  
"I'll let that go because I know you're just nervous but if you..."  
  
"Okay guys. Get ready. We're on in five minutes," The teacher said walking through the backstage room. "Remember. Listen carefully to your cues and pronounce everything clearly." Tea and Duke stood up and followed the narrator out to the stage. Joey waited by the door for Tristan and Yugi. Tristan was still looking for his hat.  
  
"Are you sure you haven't seen it? I thought I saw you pick it up," he was still questioning Ryou. Ryou shrugged.  
  
"I promise you I don't have it. Maybe you left it with your clothes," Ryou answered. Tristan went over to his bag and shuffled through it. Ryou seemed to be settling something in his head and then looked over at Yugi who'd been watching him. He smiled shyly and went out to the side stage.  
  
Kaiba slipped just stayed in the shadows and thought about whether it was more important to show Mokuba that what he'd seen didn't mean anything or that it in fact did. He ran the whole scene through his mind again.  
  
**Three days earlier**  
  
Kaiba cam home from his walk and was surprised that the house seemed to be empty. He looked in all the rooms downstairs and then went up. "Mokuba? Are you here?" he called down the hallway. He stopped at Mokuba's door, which was closed. "Mokuba?" He knocked lightly and then tried the door handle. It was locked. "Is everything okay in there?" he asked getting concerned. When he still received no response he sighed and went to his room deciding that he probably just wanted to be alone. As he walked into his room he noticed that his computer had been opened and the phone number that he'd typed so carelessly with the words ' I wish you were mine,' stared at him. "Oh no, Mokuba..." he said going back to his brother's room. "Mokuba, it's not what you think," he tried to break his brother out of it. Without any luck.  
  
"It makes you look like a dork anyway. Who's going to notice," Joey's voice brought him back to the present. Tristan walked over to his two friends still bitter.  
  
"Serenity thinks it's cute. And I think seeing six dwarves with hats and one without WILL matter," Tristan said. Joey pushed him out the door and Yugi followed them. Kaiba sunk back into his thoughts. He'd been pretty sure that Mokuba had called the number and found out who's it was and thought it was Serenity who he'd been referring to. But later that night when he'd finally come out and asked about it, Kaiba had ruined that idea and Mokuba had disappeared into his room again. Now he knew Mokuba thought that he was in love with Joey and this play might make things worse. But thinking about what Joey had said...no, what Joey had implied, he didn't want to pass up the chance that his feelings might be returned. But that was crazy wasn't it? After everyone else had left the room, he moved away from the wall and out onto the side stage.  
  
The play had already started and Snow white was just being introduced as growing into the prettiest girl in the land. Yugi was pacing the stage getting ready to go on but stopped suddenly and smiled.  
  
"The King married to another queen but this queen was very vain and mean. Everyday she'd sit before his magic mirror and..." The narrator went on. Yugi grabbed his millennium puzzle and forced Yami to appear. Just as the narrator cued in the queens entrance, Yugi pushed Yami out onto the stage. Yami, completely confused, looked back at Yugi and scowled but crossed to his place and delivered the lines. At the end of the scene he walked out and shook his head.  
  
"I can't believe you did that," he whispered. Yugi smiled victoriously. The play continued on with Yami playing the evil queen. Finally, after an half an hour, the final scene started. Joey was already in the coffin, having died two scenes before. The dwarves had put it down in it's resting place where everyone who passed by could see her beauty. Kaiba took a deep breath and crossed the stage to where it was.  
  
"Who is this beautiful girl and why is it that she came to settle here."  
  
"This is the body of our dear Snow White," one of the dwarves said.  
  
"Snow White? That is such a wonderful name. Let me have the coffin. I will give you anything you ask."  
  
"We cannot sell it for all the gold in the world."  
  
"Then give it to me, for I cannot live without being able to see her beautiful face."  
  
"Fine we shall grant your wish but only if you promise to treasure her forever." The dwarves exit the stage. Kaiba approached the coffin, a knot forming in his stomach. "I love you more then anything in the world. You are my most cherished one." He hesitated, unnoticeably, thinking once again about Mokuba but looking down at Joey, he went for it. He leaned over and brushed his lips lightly again Joey's. Joey grabbed his collar and pulled him into a more passionate kiss, which Kaiba was too shocked to object to. He had to hold onto the sides of the box to keep from falling over when he was finally let go. Joey sat up with a goofy grin on his face.  
  
"I knew you had it in you," he whispered then jumped out of the coffin and hugged Kaiba excitedly. "Finally my prince has come. Now we can live happily ever after," Joey said barely containing his sanity. Kaiba was still too shocked to react but the sudden burst of laughter from the audience brought the underclassman's existence back to both of them. Kaiba pushed Joey off him angrily, a blush forming on his face.  
  
"As if I could ever really love a mutt like you," he said and walked off the stage. Joey's face fell.  
  
"That wasn't a part of the story," he said trying to sound funny but feeling a little hurt. The teacher came across the stage, angry to no end, and dragged Joey off the stage, apologizing over and over to everyone else.  
  
"What in the world happened out there?" she yelled once they were back stage. The rest of the class looked at them nervously, folding their costumes and getting ready to leave as quickly as they could. Joey's friends couldn't even look at him.  
  
"I don't know, ask Kaiba. He's the one who walked off," Joey said defensively. The teacher shook her head not even wanting to bother and walked off. Joey looked at his friends. "Do you think that'll effect my grade?" he asked trying to lighten the mood. Tea rolled her eyes and she and Duke left.  
  
"We'll be lucky if any of us get good grades now," Tristan said and followed them. That left Yugi.  
  
"Yugi come on. It wasn't that bad was it?" Yugi still wouldn't look at him.  
  
"I think..." Yugi couldn't finish. Yami spoke up for him.  
  
"I think you need to apologize," he said.  
  
"He never apologized to me for anything. He'll get over it."  
  
"Then why does the look on your face say..."  
  
"Don't even start. Which way did he go?"


	15. Mokuba, the smartest kid in the world

Joey changed as quickly as he could and went to look for Kaiba. He ran into Mokuba before he could find any trace of him..  
  
"He's not here," Mokuba said watching Joey scan all the rooms and hallways trying to find him in the crowd. Joey looked at him.  
  
"Well, a, that's good because I'm not looking for a he," Joey said nervously, hoping that he wasn't really being that obvious.  
  
"Come on. I know you're looking for Seto. I know what's going on between you two."  
  
"Yeah, what's that?"  
  
"Well I don't know everything but I know that you're together."  
  
"Together?" Joey said confused and a little taken back. "If what just happened is your brother's idea of being together then I'd really like to know what his idea of being married is. Shooting me in the head and saying ' dogs are only good when they're dead?'"  
  
"Only if you catch him in a good mood," Mokuba responded. Joey looked at him in surprise but then saw his smile and shook his head.  
  
"You're sick, you know that?" he said. Mokuba just smiled again. "So where is he then?"  
  
"He mentioned something about his secret island, which just means he's at home in his room with the door locked. But if you ask nice he might let you in. And if that doesn't work, there's an extra key in my room, taped to the bottom of the top drawer of my dresser. I had it made just incase he stayed in there too long and I thought that..." Joey had already run past him and out of the school. "...Well, whatever." Mokuba just shook his head and went on to his class.  
  
Joey got to the mansion in record time and...well, let himself in. He moved up the stairs and right to the older Kaiba's door.  
  
"Seto?" he asked and then shook the name from his head. "I mean, hey, Kaiba, are you in there?" He imagined Kaiba rolling his eyes or looking at the door crossly but not bothering to answer it in a noticeable from where Joey was. Kaiba did neither and swung open the door angrily.  
  
"What? Did you come to make sure I was really upset?"  
  
"Well that is kinda weird considering I don't think you have enough feelings to actually get upset but no...that's not why I'm here."  
  
"Then why are you here? Or should I be afraid to ask?" Kaiba said crossing his arms and leaning on the doorway.  
  
"Well I don't really know what to say because there are only so many ways to apologize and I think I pretty much used them all. So... I guess I'll just have to hope that my being here tells you that."  
  
"Well that and the fact that you just said it...in about forty words too many. Is there anything else?" Joey thought the question over trying to find the best way to phrase his answer. "I'll take that as a no." Kaiba went to close the door but Joey put his foot out to stop it.  
  
"Wait. I still have something to say to you."  
  
"I've already wasted enough time on you. Too much when you..."  
  
"I talked to Mokuba," Joey said making him freeze. "He thinks that we're together and I need to know if that's true or if I'm just hoping it is and because...I didn't really tell him we weren't. Not that I think we are because I don't but because I didn't know what you'd told him and I didn't know if that's what you wanted him to believe was going on and..." The door opened again and Kaiba moved forward, cutting off the words with a kiss, forcing the blonde to move backward a few steps but without breaking contact. After getting over the first few seconds of surprise Joey moved in closer, holding on to Kaiba's arms as if to steady himself. The kiss broke but Kaiba stayed close by.  
  
"Mokuba's a smart kid. I'll never be the one to tell him he's wrong," Kaiba whispered meeting Joey's eyes. Joey smirked.  
  
"Whatever works for you," he said and kissed Kaiba again. 


	16. Thr trials of love

"You're right, the sunset does look different from up here," Joey paused. "Can I ask you something?" Kaiba looked over at Joey as he turned away from the sun setting over the balcony.  
  
"Sure, but I don't guarantee you'll get an answer," he said moving away from his spot on the wall to stand next to him. Joey eyed him uncertainly.  
  
"Why do you work so hard to stay on top? I mean, I know you'll say Mokuba but to be honest, I don't think that's it. I think Mokuba would be just as happy in a one-room apartment downtown as he would here as long as he had you there too."  
  
"I put up with you for five hours and you repay me by asking questions about things that don't concern you. I knew this was a mistake." Joey couldn't tell if he was kidding or not but seeing as how Kaiba didn't leave he guessed that he was.  
  
"Which part was the mistake? Opening the door to talk to me or letting me stay for five hours after?" Joey said jokingly. Kaiba didn't look at him.  
  
"Convincing myself that I needed to do that play the way it was written," he said. Joey looked at him shocked.  
  
"Well I never asked for you to..." Joey started angrily but Kaiba looked at him sideways and the rest of the words seemed to disappear. Kaiba turned to face him.  
  
"Some mistakes are worth making..." He hesitated, wondering if he really believed that, and then kissed Joey lightly on the lips. "I just..." He shook his head and took a few steps away, turning his back to Joey. "I don't owe you an explanation about anything." He crossed his arms. "You don't know how..." he stopped feeling like he was confessing something that shouldn't even be told to a priest. He spent so much of his life depending on only himself that he didn't feel right letting anyone else inside. But he knew that a relationship with anyone, not just a boyfriend or girlfriend, needed communication. And there was so much more required in a romantic relationship. He wanted so much for this to work out, he smiled thinking about how it would be if it did, but he just...wasn't ready. How could he tell that to Joey without hurting his feelings or worse...  
  
Joey came up behind him.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't expect you to trust me after everything we've been through. It's not like we're best friends or anything," Joey said. Kaiba didn't understand that. If they weren't friends then what were they? How could they be here, now, the way the were, and not be friends... And wasn't a relationship all about trust? If they couldn't trust each other then what were they doing being together?  
  
"What are you guys doing out here?" Mokuba walked out onto the balcony and they both turned to him. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Dinner's ready downstairs...are you staying Joey?" Joey looked at Kaiba who didn't really react.  
  
"No. I think I should go home. My father might be worried about me and my sister definitely will...well if she's not..." he trailed off.  
  
"We'll be down in a few minutes Mokuba," Kaiba said orderly. Mokuba nodded unsure and ran back inside. "I'll call your father and let him know that you won't be home tonight."  
  
The sunset from somewhere else in town  
  
"So, do you feel any different?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Bakura asked Ryou skeptically. "It's the sun. We see it everyday."  
  
"So? How does it make you feel?"  
  
"Hot. How does it make you feel?" Ryou looked at him annoyed.  
  
"You're hopeless. This is supposed to be romantic."  
  
"Who says? It's the sun...going down...you people sure how weird ideas of romance." Ryou rolled his eyes.  
  
"Fine, let's just go home." They got up and left. They passed the park on the way home where Tristan, Duke, and Yami were playing tackle football while Yugi, Tea, and Serenity watched...but they didn't stop.  
  
"I'll be right back. I'm going to go get us some sodas across the street," Serenity stood up and headed for the store.  
  
"That's a good idea, don't forget plenty of water for the guys," Yugi said. She nodded.  
  
"Don't you think that Duke looks so hot when he's running around like that?" Tea asked looking over at the boys playing. Tristan knocked over Yami and stole the ball from him, running away from him and Duke. Yugi scrunched his face up in disgust.  
  
"Um, that's disgusting. Why would I want to think about that?" he said. Tea looked at him flatly.  
  
"Well I thought that since..." She blushed as Yugi face changed into a challenging look. "I mean, I think he does anyway..." She looked away. Yugi smiled.  
  
"It's okay. I know what you mean, but I'm not exactly like THAT. Just because I fell in love with Yami doesn't mean that I like guys exclusively. It just...kinda...happened... What's that look for?" Yugi looked at her worried. She'd changed from the avid ' I'm listening' look to a ' I don't believe what you just said' look.  
  
"Yami? You're...in...love...with...Y...Yami? But that's like..." Tea couldn't even finish. "He's... That's... It's so wonderful!" She surprised him by hugging him and they both fell over. Duke noticed and froze just as Yami and Tristan were about to tackle him and they all crumbled to the ground.  
  
"Hey what was that? Did you forget how to play Duke?" Tristan said angrily pulling himself out of the pile. Yami noticed Duke's gaze and his eyes grew wide as Yugi blushed trying to get away from Tea. Tea jumped up excitedly, pulling Yugi up with her and straightening out his clothes in the way a mother would, her mouth moving a mile a minute.  
  
"What's going on?" Yami asked. Duke pushed him over so he could get up.  
  
"That's what I'd like to know." He stood up and started toward Yugi and Tea. Tristan and Yami exchanged looks. Yami got up and followed sensing that whatever was going to happen wouldn't be good.  
  
"I want to know everything. How it happened, when you knew, how you told him...everything. I love hearing..."  
  
"Hey! What are you two doing?" Duke asked approaching them. They both looked at him.  
  
"We were just talking Duke, what's the big deal?" Tea asked rudely. Serenity returned then and slowed as she neared them, also sensing the emotions in the air.  
  
"You looked a little too happy for it to be just talking."  
  
"That's because..."  
  
"I know how friendly your kind of people can be but I'm letting you know right now that I won't let you hang all over my girl like it's no big deal. You know what I think. I think you people just make up all this stuff about liking other guys so you can get the girls to think it's okay to be open with you. Well guess what. I'm not buying it. I don't want to see you anywhere near me or Tea again. You understand me?" He pushed Yugi away forcefully, causing him to trip and fall but Yami managed to get behind him and catch him before he hit the ground.  
  
"Duke, I was just..." He grabbed Tea's arm and drug her away from them.  
  
"Don't you dare talk back to me!" he yelled making her snap her mouth shut. The rest of them watched as they walked away, all speechless. Tristan walked over to Serenity and hugged her as she stared in horror. She buried her face in his chest as if it would block out the picture that had been etched into all of their heads. Yami steadied Yugi and sighed disappointedly.  
  
"Do you think we should make sure that she's okay?" Yugi asked. The boys looked at him.  
  
"I don't know...I've never seen him...act like that before."  
  
"I have," Yami said making them all look at him. "When he's dueling. He's a very intense person but I never thought he'd get violent."  
  
"I wonder if he's always been that way with Tea..." Yugi said, thinking out loud. "I've seen him get possessive but never so much as to hurt her. And it's all my fault..." Yami put a hand to his shoulder.  
  
"You don't control other people's demons."  
  
"We can if we are the demons..." Yami looked down at him in inquiry.  
  
--------  
  
Raine: Hey peeps. I don't know how I got here but since they always say you'll make it worse by going back and thinking about it, I'm going to leave it. It does bring up a new conflict, which is what I was looking for, so don't kill me. Suggestions are always welcome! Thanks a bunch! 


	17. Another challenge

"Joey's been gone for a while, do you think he got lost?" Mokuba asked over the dinner table. Kaiba's eyes moved to the doorway but he didn't reply. His first thought was that Joey had left but this idea was shattered with a loud crash in the hallway. Mokuba watched as Kaiba winced and stood up to go see what happened.  
  
"I'm okay!" Joey called, making Mokuba smile as his brother rolled his eyes.  
  
"I don't care about you. What did you break?" he said walking into the hallway.  
  
"Just this blue vase thing that..." Joey looked up as he noticed Kaiba's approach. "I'm just kidding. I didn't break anything. I just missed the last step and...well you get the picture. Here." He handed Kaiba the blue vase, which was perfectly intact. Kaiba put it back on the ledge by the stairs, and then helped Joey up. Joey moved close to him. "I really fell on purpose just so you'd get worried and come help me," he said slyly.  
  
"I wasn't worried about you. I just wanted to know how much money you'd knocked over." Joey shook his head and walked toward the dining room.  
  
"You're such a jerk." Kaiba grabbed his hand and pulled him back over.  
  
"Glad to see I'm appreciated." Joey pouted.  
  
"And you ruined the moment. I had it all..." Kaiba kissed him.  
  
"Don't you ever shut up?" he asked. Joey smiled.  
  
"No," he smirked. "I used to have eight hour long conversations with my Dad and all he would do was mumble an 'un-huh', every now and then. He wouldn't even look over or anything. Which I couldn't really understand because he'd always been the one to start them. I guess he never expected me to...and you don't care." Kaiba had moved away and crossed his arms. "I just thought that..." Joey trailed off.  
  
"You're letting your dinner get cold," Kaiba said.  
  
"Does that mean you already ate?"  
  
"What?" Kaiba looked at him confused.  
  
"Well you said my dinner was getting cold. If you hadn't eaten, yours would be too. Or don't you care about yours?"  
  
"You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"  
  
"As long as YOU know that, I'm okay."  
  
"I'm done Seto. I'm going to get ready to go," Mokuba said walking past them and up the stairs.  
  
"Where's he going?" Joey asked.  
  
"Is it really that important to you?"  
  
"I think you're more of a pain in the ass then I could ever be so I have a challenge for you. And you have to do it." Kaiba looked at him skeptical.  
  
"I can't agree to anything until I know what it is," he said.  
  
"You have to. Come on Kaiba, it's one of the many excitements in life. You'll never enjoy life unless you learn to take risks."  
  
"I let you in, didn't I?" Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"Come on. I promise you that I wouldn't ask you to do anything that I didn't think you could. Well unless it benefited me which in this case it does but since I think it'll also benefit you I'll tell you that it's in your..."  
  
"Stop talking. Fine. I agree to hear your challenge."  
  
"Okay, so... Hey. That wasn't fair." Kaiba looked at him amused.  
  
"What's not fair is you trying to get me to do something when I don't even know what it is."  
  
"I challenge you to learn how to have a little compassion and humor people who are just trying to help you," Joey said sadistically.  
  
"Is that it?"  
  
"No. I was just adding it to the list."  
  
"There's a list?"  
  
"Just shut up and say you'll do it," Joey started to get impatient. Kaiba didn't answer. "Well?" Kaiba just watched him patiently. "I'll take that as a yes. So now, every time that you have the urge to respond in a negative or degrading way, you're going to stop and say something less...hurtful and defensive."  
  
"I'm not defensive. And I never said I accepted your challenge. You told me to shut up first so I considered it the more prominent of the two commands."  
  
"I'll give you a cookie," Joey said smiling.  
  
"Is that supposed to be motivation?" Joey's smile faded and he sighed.  
  
"I guess not. I'll tell you what. You can come up with the terms and I promise I'll abide. Anything you want me to do."  
  
"Anything?" Kaiba asked taking interest.  
  
"Seto, I'm leaving!" Mokuba called from the top of the stairs, a suitcase in his hands.  
  
"You should have the servant carry that out for you," Kaiba said, watching him struggle to get it down the steps. Joey went up and helped him.  
  
"Anything," he said meeting eyes with the older Kaiba.  
  
"Thanks Joey," Mokuba said as he put the suitcase down on the floor.  
  
"Alright. Now, if anything happens just call, okay, and I'll come right over to pick you up. Have fun." Kaiba knelt down so he was at his brother's level and hugged him.  
  
"Thanks Seto. I'll see you tomorrow night." He grabbed his suitcase and started toward the front door, where the limo was waiting. "Bye Joey." He exited leaving the two boys alone again, Kaiba still kneeling on the floor watching him go.  
  
"I want you to treat other people the way that you treat your brother," Joey said. Kaiba looked up at him. "That's the challenge." 


	18. untitled

Raine: Hey, sorry it took so long. I don't even have time to explain so I'll just post this with a simple apology. Thanks for your patience.  
  
-------------  
  
"We'll start by going out to get something to eat. Waiters and waitresses are usually the easiest targets for negative comments."  
  
"I never said... There's perfectly good food in the dining room waiting." Kaiba stood up.  
  
"Yeah, but as you said...it's cold. And I don't really go for all this rich people stuff anyway. I don't even know how to pronounce the names, let alone know what they mean. I'd rather just have a good old-fashioned hamburger any day."  
  
"A hamburger?" Kaiba said disgustedly. "No, wait. The food isn't even the point. I'm not going to subject myself to something so demeaning, not to mention stupid."  
  
"Demeaning? No amount of money will hide that fact that you're human and need to eat. Or do you like people thinking you're inhuman?" Joey teased.  
  
"Joey, I'm not going anywhere and I'm not agreeing to this...game, you've decided to play. It's a waste of my time."  
  
"Am - I - a waste of your time too?" Joey asked curiously.  
  
"Right now, yes."  
  
"Fine, I see how it is. Well I'm going out to get me a burger. You can do whatever you feel isn't a waste of your time." Joey walked away.  
  
"Are you coming back?" Kaiba asked as Joey reached for the door.  
  
"I don't know. It might just be a waste of my time." He shrugged and walked out leaving Kaiba feeling guilty, which was so totally unlike him. Exactly what kind of hold did this blonde tyrant have over him? He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. These feelings he had for Joey had just complicated his life so much more then he needed. They went against almost every one of his theories. His whole mindset was ruined and only seemed to be crumbling more and more the longer he let the blonde stick around. Just one word from him was enough to open up all kinds of emotions that he'd decided were too restricting to pay attention to. But the door had already been opened. If he closed it now, he'd not only be hurting Joey, he'd be hurting himself. But if he kept Joey around, who knew where he'd find himself next week, abandoning his company so he could help show people that money isn't everything? The whole thing was ridiculous. Showing people a softer side once, wasn't going to change all the years of seeing him treat them like the scum of the earth that they were. Disregarding the fact that none of them were even important enough to care about how they'd feel. So all understanding of what happened next was pointless to even try to comprehend.  
  
"Joey wait!" He ran after him. Joey turned around. "I'll go with you." Joey grinned victoriously and took Kaiba's hand in his own as they headed for the restaurant.  
  
**At Burger World  
**  
"I can't get a hold of Joey. His Dad told me he called and said he was sleeping over a friends house...but we're all here," Yugi said walking over from the payphone. "Well except Duke and I don't really think that Joey would call Duke his friend." Bakura crossed his arms and scowled.  
  
"I'm not either, so why am I here? You're interrupting my sleep pattern," he asked crossly.  
  
"It is rather late Yugi. What is it that was so important?" Ryou asked before somebody could make a return comment.  
  
"It's only seven o'clock guys. What time do you go to bed?" Tristan asked. Ryou and Bakura exchanged looks.  
  
"Well, I like to get to bed early so my mind is sharp for school," Ryou smiled embarrassed.  
  
"Well that's fine, because we don't have school tomorrow," Yugi said sitting down next to Yami in the booth. They had all collected in a booth toward the back of the building but still in view of most of what was going on everywhere else. Serenity, Tristan, and Ryou were on one side, with Bakura directly across from Ryou, and Yami and Yugi settled in next to Bakura.  
  
"My father didn't say which friend?" Serenity asked, more concerned over her brother.  
  
"No. He just said a friend," Yugi returned.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, Serenity. He's a sm...tough kid," Tristan tried to reassure her.  
  
"I think we found your answer," Yami said watching Joey and Kaiba walk in, Joey smiling as if he'd just won the lottery eight times in a row. Tristan, Serenity, and Ryou all turned around.  
  
"I guess they worked things out," Yugi said.  
  
"Guess so. Hey Joey! Over here!" Tristan called out. Kaiba quickly released Joey's hand and crossed his arms contorting his face to an annoyed disinterest. Joey, already knowing Kaiba's objection to being there in the first place, made a small attempt at a wave and went up to the front counter to order.  
  
"I guess they're in a hurry," Yugi said as they all turned back around.  
  
"Kaiba and my brother? Why would they be hanging out together?" Serenity said confused. Everyone looked at her but didn't say anything. Tristan put his arm around her shoulders.  
  
"I'll tell you later," he said.  
  
"So Yugi, what's going on?" Ryou asked hoping to get an answer this time. Yugi looked at Yami to answer but Yami was too busy watching Joey at the counter. Kaiba leaned over and said something to him and Joey pushed him back playfully. They paid for the food and left without even a glance toward his friends.  
  
"We're here to talk about us," Yami said.  
  
**At Tea's house**  
  
"Tea, phone!" a voice drifted down the hall.  
  
"Hang it up!" Tea called back from her room.  
  
"He says it's important!"  
  
"And - I – said, hang it up!" There was a brief silence.  
  
"I told him you'd call him back," her mother said from the doorway. She put the phone down on the dresser and left. Tea looked at it annoyed.  
  
"I don't want to call him back," she mumbled. "If I wanted to talk to the jerk I would have taken the phone the first time he called." She took the phone and threw it in the closet and shut the door. "Nobody treats my friends like that and try to make it okay." The phone started to ring, faintly heard behind the closed door. Tea rolled her eyes. "He is persistent, I'll give him that." She opened the door and picked up the phone. "I don't want to talk to you," she said to the receiver.  
  
"Is this a bad time?"  
  
"Oh, sorry Dad. I thought you were someone else. I'll go find Mom."  
  
**The walk home from Burger World  
**  
"That wasn't so bad was it?" Joey asked before biting into one of his hamburgers. "And don't worry about my friends. They all know what's going on," he said with his mouth full of food.  
  
"Swallow before you try to talk. That's disgusting." Joey just grinned. He swallowed and took another bite, then offered a different burger to Kaiba. Kaiba eyed it skeptically and waved his hand in rejection. Joey swallowed again.  
  
"Aw, come on. You're not even gonna have one? You know you want it." He waved the burger in Kaiba's face. Kaiba grabbed the burger and threw it in a trashcan as they passed by it. Joey stopped walking. "I can't believe..." Kaiba pulled him into motion again. Joey turned back to the trashcan. "But you just..." Kaiba pulled harder.  
  
"It's just a hamburger. You can go buy another one."  
  
"A hamburger is never – just – a hamburger. Every one has it's own special place in my stomach. Now one part of me will be unsatisfied."  
  
"It would have been anyway if I had eaten it, so stop complaining."  
  
"But I needed it."  
  
"Do you ever think about anything besides food?"  
  
"Well I think about you." Kaiba stopped walking and raised an eyebrow in interest.  
  
"What about me?" he asked.  
  
"How cool it'd be if you stopped being such a jerk for once and just agreed with me. To tell you the truth I don't know how long I could hang around with someone who's always contradicting me and making me feel stupid."  
  
"You can go at any time."  
  
"But I know you don't want that. Any more then I want it. I just want you to like me."  
  
"I do more then like you," Kaiba said before he realized that he had. Joey slid his arms around Kaiba's neck and kissed him intimately. "And there's more then one way to taste a hamburger," Kaiba smiled, and kissed him again. "Let's get back to the mansion." 


	19. grudge

**The next morning  
**  
Joey woke up and rolled over, looking around the room with his eyes still blurry with sleep to find it empty. For a second he didn't even remember where he was but one look at the massive desk and book shelves reminded him of everything...but where was Seto? He vaguely recalled feeling him get up some time during the night or early morning but couldn't place whether or not he should know why or where he'd gone. Joey blinked twice and then noticed the post-it that'd been stuck to his forehead. He pulled it off and read it.  
  
' Work. Call later.' Joey stretched and yawned then sat up groggily and pulled the rest of his clothes on, sticking the post-it to the nearest lamp.  
  
"Does that mean me or you?" he said aloud but only silence answered. He laughed and stood up. And that's when he noticed the second post-it, which was on the door conveniently placed at his eye level. He walked over and pulled it off.  
  
' Me,' it read, which made him roll his eyes and just laugh again. He stuck it back on the door and went downstairs to the kitchen to find some breakfast. Halfway through scavenging every cabinet for something that looked even remotely like normal food a phone started to ring. Joey spun around guiltily and slammed the cabinet door shut, managing to crush his finger in it. He yelped in pain and shook it out then answered the phone.  
  
"Hello?" he said, then stuck the tip of his finger into his mouth.  
  
"I see that you're making yourself at home," Kaiba's voice said with a hint of amusement in it.  
  
"Where are you?" Joey looked around.  
  
"At the office. There was a bit of a crisis that needed my assistance but I shouldn't be here all day. I'll meet you for lunch. Name your place."  
  
"This sounds like we're making a business meeting," Joey said opening the cabinet again and shuffling through a shelf of baking ingredients. He closed it again and moved on to the next cabinet.  
  
"There might be some of Mokuba's cereal left in the bottom cabinet to your left," Kaiba instructed. Joey opened it to reveal box of Lucky Charms and looked around the room again warily.  
  
"How're you..."  
  
"I'll pick you up when I get done here. Try not to break anything." The phone clicked off.  
  
"As if I - try - to do things like that," Joey said sarcastically. He discarded the phone on the counter and pulled out the box of cereal.  
  
**At Yugi's House**  
  
"Yugi I'm... What's going on in here?!" Yugi's grandpa yelled waking both of them up. Yami tried to disappear but Solomon walked over and grabbed his ear, pulling him away from the bed. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what happened!" Yami winced and Yugi covered his eyes. "I left you in charge of protecting my grandson and this is what I get?" He turned Yami so he was facing Yugi.  
  
"Oh that... He fell in the kitchen and hit his head on the counter." Yugi tilted his head confused and then trailed a hand over his cheek. He recoiled when a pain shot out from a place right below his left eye.  
  
"Yeah. It's nothing Grandpa. I just fell. Clumsy me," Yugi smiled to reassure him and shrugged. Solomon let go of Yami and Yami crossed his arms annoyed.  
  
"So did you miss me?" Solomon asked. Yugi's smile became more believable.  
  
"Of course we missed you. How was it? How's your friend?"  
  
"Not too much better but there's still hope. Well, I'm going to go get some sleep. It was a long trip. You boys should change your clothes and get ready to open. There's already a line out there waiting." Solomon left the room.  
  
"Really?" Yugi crawled over to the window and looked out. "There's nobody out there," he said puzzled. Yami went over to him.  
  
"Of course there isn't. He's just playing with you." Yami sat down on the bed next to him.  
  
"Why didn't you tell him what really happened? He would have understood and you would have looked a lot better," Yugi said crawling into his lap.  
  
"Telling your grandfather that you got into a fight over something I said wouldn't make me look any better."  
  
"But you protected me?" Yugi tried to make him feel better. Yami smiled down at him.  
  
"I don't know how I got through anything without you." Yugi smiled.  
  
"So do you think Duke's calmed down since then?"  
  
**Tea walking to work**  
  
"Hey Tea, wait up! I need to talk to you!" Duke ran up to her. She rolled her eyes and didn't respond right away. "Didn't you get my messages?"  
  
"Yeah, all 582 of them."  
  
"Then why didn't you call me back?"  
  
"Because I didn't want to." They stopped at an intersection.  
  
"Come on. I said I was sorry like ten million times. What do you want me to do?"  
  
"I want you to leave me alone. It's over Duke. You insulted my friend and that is unforgivable." She crossed the street.  
  
"I did more then insult him. He's a loser. Why's he your friend anyway?" he yelled after her but didn't follow. She turned around angrily.  
  
"Because he cares about things and he respects other people. In other words, because he's not like you." She continued on her way. Duke shook his head angrily.  
  
"This is all Yugi's fault. If only I could get him alone without that stupid bodyguard of his. I'd teach him a thing or two about respect. I always knew he was faking that little innocent act. He's got everybody fooled into thinking he's Mr. Perfect. Well he ain't fooling me." Duke stormed off. 


	20. Taking the job too seriously

About halfway through Joey's bowl of cereal a servant walked into the kitchen. Joey swallowed and watched as he went through all the cabinets and wrote some things down on a tablet he was carrying.  
  
"Um...hi," Joey said unsure. The servant just ignored him and went on with his list kind of like how a robot would. Joey looked at his cereal and then back at the servant and suddenly didn't want to eat any more, so he took the bowl over to the sink to dump it out.  
  
"Just leave it, I'll take care of it," the servant said walking over and taking it from him. Joey jumped back at the sudden movement and eyed the servant suspiciously.  
  
"O...kay..." he said and left the room for the living room. Not even five minutes later, the servant followed, this time carrying a bucket of cleaning supplies. He began to clean everything around where Joey was, being very careful not to touch anything that would obstruct his view of the television. Joey stopped his channel surfing long enough to glance uncomfortably at the servant as he started on the windows. Deciding that he'd be more in the way if he stayed, Joey shut the TV off and went to look for something else to occupy his mind until Kaiba returned. And again...the servant followed. After another twenty minutes of their demented game of hide and go seek Joey started to get freaked out and locked himself in Kaiba's room.  
  
**At Kaiba Corp.  
**  
"Mr. Kaiba, there's a Joey Wheeler on the phone." Kaiba lowered the papers he was studying and looked at the phone.  
  
"What line?" he asked the speaker.  
  
"Three, sir." The speaker clicked off. Kaiba tried to piece together some reason that Joey would so desperately need to call for but none that were good seemed to present itself. He picked up the phone.  
  
"What happened?" he asked almost afraid to know. He set the papers down on the desk and starting typing the information into the computer.  
  
"Call off the guard dog," Joey said almost fiercely. Kaiba stopped.  
  
"What?" he asked incredulous.  
  
"The dude. The one you got following me everywhere I go."  
  
"Maxwell? I just hired him last week to keep an eye on Mokuba when I wasn't around. He shouldn't be...unless... Now that I think about it, today was supposed to be his first day. He must think you're Mokuba. Although I don't see why he would confuse you two..."  
  
"Well he's scaring me."  
  
"Come on, it can't be that bad."  
  
"He tried to follow me into the bathroom...which I still need to use by the way." Kaiba could sense the impatience and discomfort in his voice. " Just tell him to stop."  
  
"Give me twenty minutes. I'm almost done here."  
  
"But I..." Kaiba hung up. He looked at all the work before him and shook his head. ' So it really - is - between having my job or having him,' he thought to himself. "If he wasn't so damn cute it'd just be a matter of eliminating which was worse." He saved the information on his computer and slid the papers into a drawer, then got up and left.  
  
**The Game Shop  
**  
"Are you ready yet, Yami? Were almost twenty minutes late for opening." Yami looked up from the pile of cards on the floor.  
  
"I can't believe I'm missing my favorite card. Are you sure you didn't take it out?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's just go. We can look for it later." He pulled Yami to his feet and they walked down to unlock the doors.  
  
"But I can't function knowing that my Dark Magician is lost out there somewhere."  
  
"It's..."  
  
"Don't even say it. You know how much those cards mean to me. They're not just..."  
  
"...Cards, they're my history. Yeah I know. And I'm sorry you misplaced one. But I promise, when Grandpa wakes up we'll tear apart everything and find it. For now...just try not to think about it.  
  
**At Ryou's House  
**  
"Bakura, are you awake?" Ryou crawled up next to him and brought his face in close to Bakura's. Bakura mumbled something in response but showed no other sign of being awake. "Bakura, come on. You sleep too much. It's unhealthy." Ryou poked at Bakura's ribs and Bakura grabbed his hand angrily.  
  
"What I do with my time is my business," he said and rolled over so his back was to Ryou. Ryou jumped over the body and pushed Bakura's hair out of his face.  
  
"So you're just going to sleep all day?"  
  
"Yep. Now leave me alone." Ryou crawled back over Bakura and got off the bed.  
  
"Fine. I'm going to see if Yugi's all right. I'll tell him you send your regards."  
  
"Don't tell him I'm sending him anything. The last thing I need is for him to think I like him...or his stupid dark."  
  
"Then get up or I'll tell him you send your love as well." Bakura scowled and got up.  
  
"I hate you." Ryou smiled.  
  
"I love you too. I'll meet you outside." 


	21. New Job?

"So Joey's friends with Kaiba..." Serenity asked looking at Tristan to make sure she was understanding what he'd just said.  
  
"Yeah...'friends'..." Tristan returned.  
  
"Well that's great! I think it'll be good for him. I mean running a big company like that by yourself must be pretty lonely. Having a friend like Joey to make him laugh every once in a while is nice. Leave it to my brother to do something so thoughtful."  
  
"Kaiba doesn't laugh...unless he's watching someone suffer... Hey, they're perfect for each other! Joey can be himself and Kaiba can laugh at him. Why didn't I see this before? Duh, because I didn't want to. I still don't want to but now that I do it doesn't seem so bad."  
  
"Tristan, are you okay? You just had a whole conversation with...well, yourself and half of it didn't really make any sense."  
  
"Serenity, there's something else that you should know."  
  
**At the mansion**  
  
Joey heard the click of a key in the door and jumped up excitedly.  
  
"Yea, Seto! Finally!" Once the door opened he ran past the person in the hallway and into the bathroom. Three minutes later he came back out. " You'd think that in a big place like this you'd have your own bathroom. Oh hi, Mokuba. Wait, Mokuba?" Mokuba looked at him, several different emotions playing across his face, the most prominent being confusion.  
  
"Where's Seto?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know, I thought... Well I really... He's not here."  
  
"And who's that guy downstairs? He told me I couldn't come in because Master Mokuba wasn't allowed to have visitors and then he didn't believe me when I told him I was me. He kinda creeped me out."  
  
"Yeah me too! So how'd you get in then?"  
  
"I told him if he didn't let me in that I'd...awe who am I kidding, I just snuck in when his back was turned."  
  
"Hey! What are you doing?! I told you that you weren't allowed in. Master Kaiba's orders," Maxwell said rushing up the stairs.  
  
"This guy doesn't know when to stop," Joey muttered.  
  
"Maxwell!" Kaiba's voice drifted up to them angrily. The servant turned around.  
  
"Master Kaiba... This kid tried to impersonate your brother to get into the house. I think he's up to no good."  
  
"That is my brother you idiot. I left a check by the door, you're fired." Maxwell stood a moment in shock and then slumped his way downstairs. Joey and Mokuba followed.  
  
"Wasn't that a little harsh? He WAS just doing what you told him," Joey said in Maxwell's defense.  
  
"Well if you liked him so much, you can finish cleaning the house for him. And don't forget to keep an eye on Mokuba." And with that he left again. Mokuba and Joey exchanged looks.  
  
**At the Game Shop**  
  
"Stop Yami! That's my pillow!" Yugi ran over and grabbed his pillow from the disturbed spirit, holding it protectively away from him. "Your card isn't in there." Grandpa had come down almost immediately after they'd opened and said it was okay for them to go. Yami was now tearing through Yugi's room like a tornado with a vengeance.  
  
"Well where is it? I can't believe you lost it."  
  
"I can't believe you ripped open my favorite stuffed bunny." He held up the mutilated bunny and sighed. "You really need to get a hold of yourself if you ever want to..."  
  
"Looking for this," a voice came from the doorway making Yugi jump. Yami looked up and saw the card in Bakura's hand. He grabbed at it but Bakura flicked it out of sight again...  
  
"How'd you get it?" Yami narrowed his eyes bitterly.  
  
"You dropped it yesterday after your little hero gig. I figured that you must not care too much about it or..."  
  
"Bakura, give it back!" Ryou demanded from behind him. Bakura rolled his eyes and tossed it to Yami who tucked it into a box that was under the bed.  
  
"Hey Ryou, what are you guys doing here?" Yugi said as Ryou entered the room.  
  
"We came to see you."  
  
**Downstairs  
**  
Solomon smiled as a customer walked in the door.  
  
"Good morn...oh, hey Duke. Are you here to see Yugi?"  
  
"Something like that. Is he here?"  
  
"Upstairs in his room. I just sent Ryou and Bakura up there too."  
  
"Thanks." He passed the by the counter and into the house. 


	22. Uncomfortable silences

"So..." Joey looked down uncomfortably. "What do you do around here when your brother isn't home?"  
  
"I'm never here when my brother isn't home. He always takes me with him. Knowing that he actually hired someone to watch me makes me feel kind of...left behind..."  
  
"Me too..." There was a long silence. "Well..."  
  
"I'm going to go play in my room," Mokuba jetted up the stairs before Joey could finish.  
  
"This will be fun," Joey said sarcastically. He looked around the hall trying to decide what to do next. "I wonder if he really expects me to clean the whole house..."  
  
**Yugi's House**  
  
Duke stopped right below the stairs as he heard voices drifting down from above.  
  
"So since you were the one who made Yami go on this little rampage, YOU can help him clean it up," Yugi was saying. Duke tensed up irritably at the sound of his voice.  
  
"I can't believe I'm going to do this..." he mumbled. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "It's okay. I'll just go in, say what I have to say, and leave." He walked up the stairs and knocked lightly on the open door to Yugi's room. All four boys looked over. Yugi's face went a deathly white and Yami stood up from the spot on the floor where he'd been cleaning.  
  
"What do you want?" Yami asked hiding his immediate want to attack the unwanted intruder. Duke put his hands up as if in surrender.  
  
"Don't worry. I don't want any trouble. I just want to apologize to Yugi," he said. Ryou looked from Yugi to Yami for their reaction, anticipation sparkling in his eyes. Yugi stood up and took a step in Duke's direction.  
  
"It's o..." he started.  
  
"No it's not," Yami interrupted. The room went quiet and Yugi looked down shyly, a red flush appearing on his cheeks.  
  
"Yami, it's..."  
  
"Yugi," Yami quieted him again.  
  
"Look. I'm not looking for your forgiveness. I really don't care whether or not you hate me for the rest of your lonely little lives. I just wanted you to know that I was sorry. I let myself get out of hand. It's over with and that's it. You can do whatever you want with that. I just needed to get it out so - I - could get over this whole thing. I'll see you around." Duke said turning his back to them to go.  
  
"Duke wait!" Yugi stopped him. Duke smiled knowing that his plan had worked. He quickly hid his joy and turned back to them. "I'm sorry things ended up like this," Yugi said sadly. Duke looked at Yami, who had crossed his arms and plastered a look that said ' get out now or die' on his face.  
  
"Yeah," he said resentfully, and left. ' That was all too easy,' he thought to himself.  
  
Yami got back down on the floor to pick up the rest of the stuff he'd thrown around the room and Yugi looked down at him, a look of thought on his face. Ryou looked at Bakura, who seemed to be off in his own little world, and then started to help Yami by grabbing the trashcan.  
  
"So what exactly is all this stuff?" he asked. Yugi tossed him the remains of his stuffed bunny.  
  
"Sammy," he said.  
  
**The park**  
  
"Are you okay? You haven't said anything for like fifteen minutes," Tristan asked worriedly. Serenity looked at him but still didn't say anything. Tristan smiled. "Is it too late to say that I was just kidding?" he said hope lingering in his tone. She took a deep breath.  
  
"I'm okay," she said. "You just took me by surprise."  
  
"You're not the only one," he replied. "He kinda..."  
  
"Let's just talk about something else. So, what'd you do last night after you got home?"  
  
"Well let's see, I..."  
  
"How serious is it?" she interrupted.  
  
"I thought we weren't talking about it," Tristan smiled jokingly.  
  
"We aren't. You were saying."  
  
"Yeah, I..."  
  
"So how serious?" she interrupted again. He just looked at her. "I'm sorry. I don't wanna know." She put her hand up in apology. "Go ahead."  
  
"Well I don't want to now." Tristan leaned back on the bench and folded his hands behind his head as if he were relaxing to take a nap or something. She watched him dumbfounded.  
  
"Tristan," she said sounding disappointed. He smiled and sat up straight again.  
  
"Okay. Last night I saw this really cool movie about..." he rambled on but she wasn't really listening. All she could think about was her brother.  
  
**Back at the mansion**  
  
"Mokuba? Can I ask you a quick question?" Joey knocked on Mokuba's door. Mokuba didn't answer. "Mokuba?" Joey opened the door. The room was empty. "Oh great, I've been on watch for a total of ten minutes and I've already lost him. Are all Kaiba's out to make my life more complicated?" He walked back toward the stairs. "Mokuba!" 


	23. Finding Mokuba

"Mokuba! This isn't funny anymore!" Joey started to get angry. "Why does this house have to be so dang big?"  
  
"Master Seto will be very angry that you lost his brother," a voice said from behind him. Joey jumped startled and spun around.  
  
"What the...I thought he told you to leave," Joey said angrily. Maxwell just stared at him. "And he's not lost, he's here somewhere, I know it. It's just a matter of where. Mokuba, come on!" He turned his back to Maxwell again and started opening all the doors and leaving them open as he walked down all the hallways.  
  
"Joey? Mokuba? Are you guys still here?" Seto's voice called through the house.  
  
"Oh great, now what?" Joey muttered.  
  
"Over..." Joey pushed Maxwell up against a wall and covered his mouth. Seto's footsteps moved away from them.  
  
"What are you doing? Trying to get me killed?" he said distressed. He let go of the servant and sighed. "What's the use? It's not like I belong here anyway. I guess dreams never really do come true."  
  
"I'm sorry, Joey," a timid voice responded. Joey looked up the hallway at Mokuba, who emerged from one of the rooms. "I was just playing around..."  
  
"Mokuba!" Joey ran over and hugged him. Mokuba winced out of discomfort.  
  
"You can let go now," he said. Joey released him and stood back up  
  
"What were you thinking?"  
  
"Master Seto is coming back," Maxwell informed them.  
  
"It's Master Kaiba to you punk," Mokuba said angrily.  
  
"Yeah," Joey chimed in smiling.  
  
"He's Master Kaiba to you too Joey," Mokuba smiled slyly. Joey scowled.  
  
"What are you guys doing over here?" Kaiba walked up confused.  
  
"We were playing a game," Joey said. "And I thought you fired him." Joey pointed to Maxwell.  
  
"Maxwell? But I just hired him. Why would I do that?" Kaiba smirked. Joey looked at him in disbelief.  
  
"Very funny," he said unamused. "So why is he really here?"  
  
"To watch Mokuba...with Mokuba's permission of course." Seto looked down at Mokuba for confirmation. Mokuba decided it wasn't the right time to protest and shrugged.  
  
"Why not?" he said almost boredly. Seto nodded appreciatively.  
  
"So I believe we had a lunch meeting," he said turning to Joey. Joey looked at him crossly.  
  
"I'd rather that you not refer to me like I'm a client. It makes me feel unimportant," Joey said as they started down the hallway.  
  
"Since when do I care about your feelings?" Seto smiled.  
  
"You jerk," Joey said also smiling. Mokuba watched as Joey hit his brother playfully and for some reason instead of being happy that his brother was finally showing his old self, the happy self, he was jealous.

---------

Raine: Sorry it's so short. I'll try to make the next one longer.


	24. Concerns

"Yami, we have to talk about this," Yugi said entering the room after showing Bakura and Ryou to the door. Bakura had decided that they'd stayed long enough. Ryou was just thankful that they'd managed to stay as long as they had without Bakura starting a fight with Yami. Yugi was unsure if that were because Yami was too preoccupied to respond to the derogatory comments or because Bakura really hadn't said anything too rude. Yugi was starting to wonder if Ryou somehow had managed to find a way to control the dark spirit. Bakura had been a lot quieter the last few times they'd all hung out together and it was hard to tell if that were good or bad.  
  
"There's nothing to talk about," Yami said, not looking up from what he was doing, which Yugi was actually unsure of what that was. He sat down of the floor in front of Yami.  
  
"It's eating at you very slowly but is incredibly visible. You know you can't hide anything from me." Yami didn't respond. Yugi inched closer. " I know you're still upset about Duke and I don't know why." Yami met his eyes disbelievingly.  
  
"How can you..." he stopped himself before saying something that would hurt his little hikari's feelings and looked back at the colored tiles that he had spread across the floor. "Yugi, he's unstable. You will never know what little thing can set him off again. It could be a look or a simple word... I just think it's best for you if you stay away from him for awhile.  
  
"He said he was sorry," Yugi offered.  
  
"Yeah... He did..." Yami said cynically. He shuffled the tiles absently into a new sequence. Yugi put his hands over Yami's, forcing Yami to look at him again.  
  
"I just want to give him a chance."  
  
"I know. You always want to give people a chance. I'm..." He noticed the hurt filling Yugi's eyes and stopped. "...I'm not..." He looked down again. "I don't want to tell you not to. That would be wrong. I just..." He sighed and looked back at Yugi. "Yugi. You're so trusting that sometimes... Sometimes you don't see things that could be important. Like someone trying to use you to get something else." He paused to make sure Yugi was in understanding. "I'm just asking you to be on your guard." Yugi smiled.  
  
"Of course I will," he said cheerfully. Yami tried his best to mask the lingering concern and nodded, then went back to the rainbow tiles. Yugi moved over besides him to get a better look at them. "So, what's this?" he asked.  
  
"I think it's a puzzle. Serenity dropped it off yesterday but this is the first time I've actually gotten to look at it."  
  
"Serenity? Isn't she leaving today?"  
  
"Yeah. We're all supposed to meet at the airport this evening to say good- bye."  
  
**Tristan and Serenity ( Somewhere out there in the world...walking...)**  
  
"You'll see him later. Then you can talk to HIM about it," Tristan said after the millionth question over Kaiba and Joey's relationship.  
  
"Why can't you just tell me?"  
  
"Because...I don't really know myself. We haven't really talked that much since...well, since they got together."  
  
"Just hearing put like that... I never... I mean I know sometimes I thought they sounded like an old married couple but to actually have them stated as being 'together' it just... I can't even process what that means."  
  
"Well, like I said...you can talk to him tonight."  
  
"Do you even know where he is? I wanted to spend my last day here with both of you guys."  
  
**In Kaiba's limo**  
  
"So, where are we going?" Joey asked as they pulled out of the driveway. Kaiba just looked at him. "Come on. It better be some place good."  
  
"Would I go anywhere that wasn't?"  
  
"I choose not to answer that." Joey crossed his arms defiantly.  
  
"It was rhetorical anyway," Kaiba rolled his eyes and looked toward the window.  
  
"I knew that." It went silent between them. Joey started to look around the limo boredly and Kaiba turned around and studied him. Joey met his gaze. "What?" he shrugged uncomfortably.  
  
"Just wondering how long I had to wait for you to say something."  
  
"Well you could have just asked me to talk."  
  
"I didn't want you to. I just knew you would."  
  
"Well if you don't want to talk then what do you want to do, just sit here and stare at..." Joey stopped when Kaiba raised his eyebrow seductively and a smile crept across his face. Then he climbed over closer to Joey. "Isn't there a law or something against this?" Joey asked sheepishly as Kaiba hovered over him.  
  
"Would you care if there were?" Kaiba asked daringly. Joey smiled.  
  
"I'd care enough to break it," he said and let Kaiba kiss him. "But we need to talk about Mokuba." Kaiba withdrew at the mention of his brother.  
  
"Why Mokuba? What does he have to do with anything?"  
  
"He doesn't like us being together."  
  
"What are you talking about? He's the one who..."  
  
"I know but I can tell he's not okay with it. He just wants you to be happy so he won't say anything but I can see it on his face every time I'm around. He doesn't like me being around you."  
  
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Kaiba said crossing his arms.  
  
**At Kaiba mansion  
**  
Mokuba sighed and slid the toys he was playing with under his bed. He still couldn't believe that Seto had left him alone with some servant who he didn't even know. What was next, leaving him in some day care center? He wished he could blame Joey for how his brother was acting but he knew that Joey couldn't control Seto. Seto didn't do anything unless he wanted to...and he liked Joey. He was happy that his brother was finally smiling again. He just wished that he could be a part of helping his brother smile. He'd been trying for so long to bring back the happy young boy that Seto had once been and now all of the sudden one person, who Seto hadn't even liked to begin with, comes along and makes it look so easy. So why couldn't it have been Mokuba? Wasn't he enough to make Seto happy? It had been just the two of them for so long. Was Seto finally getting tired of always hanging around with his little brother? Had Mokuba been holding him back from doing things that he wanted to do? Mokuba didn't know what to think anymore. 


	25. Never the perfect day

"It's only ridiculous if you don't believe it." Kaiba shook his head annoyed.  
  
"Why'd you have to bring this up now?" he scowled.  
  
"Because I thought you cared about your brother and that you wouldn't want to do anything that would hurt him," Joey pushed.  
  
"And I'm not. If Mokuba had a problem, he'd tell me."  
  
"Well maybe he hasn't found the right time...or the right way. I just think you need to talk to him."  
  
"Fine." Kaiba pushed a button to page the driver. "Pull over," he ordered. The limo pulled over and Joey looked at him confused. "Get out." Confusion warped into surprise.  
  
"What? I don't even know where we are," Joey protested.  
  
"Walk that way to the end of the street and you'll know," Kaiba pointed. Joey narrowed his eyes at him as if looking for something inside of him that couldn't be seen, but that wasn't really there at all.  
  
"You can't be serious."  
  
"I'm always serious. Get out," the order became more forceful. Joey reached for the door handle. "I'll call you." The words only made Joey more confused and he looked at Kaiba again as if looking for something that wasn't too easily spotted. He climbed out of the car unsure of how he should feel.  
  
"Don't bother. I won't be home," he said and closed the door. The limo turned around and went back the way they'd come. Joey kicked a rock that was on the ground angrily. "If I knew him differently I'd say that this was a joke. What could he possibly be thinking?" Joey shook his head and started walking in the direction Kaiba had indicated.  
  
**At Yugi's house  
**  
"Tea!" Yugi cried cheerfully as the brunette walked into the kitchen. Yami peaked out of the refrigerator to watch her sit down at the counter.  
  
"Hey guys! I got off of work early so we could all go see Serenity together." Yami just gave a small smile and went back to looking for something to eat for lunch. "So what's been going on?"  
  
"Not much. Grandpa came home. He said he was leaving again tomorrow to go back. He only came home to make sure everything was still whole here," Yugi replied sitting down across from her at the counter.  
  
"What'd you do to your face? Playing too rough with Tristan again?" she joked. Yugi looked down.  
  
"Something like that. But it's alright now," he looked up again and smiled. Yami scowled but nobody could see it through the door. Yugi may think that everything is okay now but Yami couldn't stand the thought of that. He just kept seeing Duke standing over Yugi victoriously, waiting for him to get up so he could attack again. He hated the fact that he'd been the one to start the whole thing. Well Duke really started it by making all those false accusations. Yeah, Yami just couldn't get the whole scene out of his mind.  
  
Yesterday night  
  
Tristan and Serenity had left early because Serenity needed to be home and Bakura had decided he had more important things to do, so Yugi, Yami, and Ryou were walking home together. The conversation at Burger World had gone fairly well. It was decided that everyone was willing to accept Yugi and Yami for what they were, with the exception of Duke of course. Tristan had just been caught off guard but with everything that was now going on with Joey as well, he'd decided it was better just to get used to it rather then lose all of his friends just because he didn't agree with the fact that they had different tastes. Ryou was okay with it for hidden reasons but finding out what they were wasn't the point of the meeting. Yami and Yugi just wanted to know who their real friends were so another situation like Duke threatening Yugi didn't happen again. What happened as they walked home was just another reason why they needed to know that.  
  
Yugi and Ryou were having their own conversation about a game or something that Ryou's father had brought home on his last visit. Ryou was explaining how the game worked and Yugi was trying to picture it in his head. Yugi had been about to ask if he could see it some time, when Duke walked up and blocked their path. He'd said he just wanted to talk but the conversation turned from talking to yelling very quickly and Yami had said something to calm Duke down. Only it must have come out wrong because instead of doing that, it seemed to just make Duke worse. He yelled something about Yugi not being able to fight his own battles and then his fist was colliding with Yugi's face. Yami stepped in front of Yugi before Duke could attack again, and knowing that Yami could do so much worse then just give him a few bruises, he'd backed off.  
  
There was no way that after that Duke would just want to say he was sorry. Sorry just wasn't good enough.  
  
The phone started to ring bringing Yami's mind back to the room.  
  
"I'll get it," he said not wanting it to interrupt Yugi and Tea's conversation. He closed the refrigerator and went over to pick up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" he asked.  
  
"Yami? It's Joey."  
  
"Joey? Where are you?" At the mention of Joey Yugi and Tea stopped talking and looked over.  
  
"I'm not quiet sure but it's near the beach. I can hear the water but I can't seem to find it."  
  
"Where's Kaiba? I thought you two were together?"  
  
"What's going on?" Yugi broke in concerned. Yami motioned for him to be quiet again.  
  
"He had to go. Could you just come get me?" Joey said impatiently.  
  
"How can I come get you if you don't even know where you are?" Yami asked turning his back to Yugi and Tea so he could concentrate more on Joey.  
  
"Well there's a large fish sign and the payphone I'm using is painted with waves all over it. I'll try to find the..." he was cut off.  
  
"Joey?" No answer. "Joey?" He hung up the phone and turned back to his friends. "Do you know anybody with a car who knows their way around the beach?"


	26. The neverending street

"Damn phone!" Joey cursed. "I'll teach you who can cut me off." He went to kick it but noticed the man behind the counter of the store getting ready to come after him if he did. He turned his back to the phone and took a few steps closer to the street. He looked up it in the direction he'd been heading and then turned back to look down the way he'd come from. "I don't know what I said but I'm going to kill Kaiba the next time I see him." He looked in the direction he'd been going again and thought about what Kaiba had said. ' Walk that way to the end of the street and you'll know.' He wondered if he should continue on or wait to see if Yami and his other friends showed up. But they didn't know where he was any more then he did and the street just seemed to go on forever. Joey looked back at the fish store. "Well if this is here, then I guess it can't be too much farther. But I should leave a message just in case they do come looking for me and actually find this place." He shrugged and walked into the store. "Hey! If a bunch of people come in and ask if you've seen me could you tell 'em that I went that way?" Joey pointed. The man just gave him a half bored half skeptical look. "Fine. I guess it's just you an' me for the next few hours." Joey sat down in one of the chairs in the waiting area and crossed his arms. "So do you just sell fish here? What made you decide to get a job like this? Does your wife like fish? Do you even have a wife? What's her name? Is she nice? Do you live around here?" The man stood up and approached the counter.  
  
"Shut up!" he growled. "What do your friends look like?" Joey smiled.  
  
"Well I won't describe all of them but the one that you'll recognize the easiest had spiky black and magenta colored hair with blonde bangs. He's about this high but with his hair he's like this high." Joey moved his arm to indicate. "There's actually two of them like that but..." Joey saw the man growing impatient. "I guess I'll be going. I'm going that way...okay?" Joey pointed again. The man nodded and walked back to his spot. Joey left the store and started up the street again.  
  
**At Yugi's**  
  
"Well the only person I know who even HAS a car is Kaiba but if Kaiba isn't with him then I don't know if that means something bad happened and he wouldn't want to see Kaiba or if he just got lost out there by himself," Yugi said thinking about the question.  
  
"Well since we don't know how dangerous this situation is then I don't think we have much time to think about it," Yami returned.  
  
"Does anyone know Kaiba's number?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Home or cell?" Tea said pulling out her phone book. Yugi and Yami looked at her surprised. "What?" she asked feeling a little uncomfortable. " Are we going to go get Joey or not?" she asked before they could question her further. Yami picked up the phone.  
  
"Cell," he said. She rattled off the number and he dialed. Kaiba picked up on the second ring.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Joey called and said he was lost and we need a car to go find him." Yami could almost see Kaiba rolling his eyes.  
  
"I'll take care of it," he said and hung up. Yami looked at the phone for a minute and then hung it up.  
  
"Well..." Yugi looked at him expectantly.  
  
"He said he'd take care of it."  
  
"I don't believe him. What if there really IS a problem between them? I bet Kaiba's just going to leave him out there," Tea said getting annoyed.  
  
"Well the beach is only two miles away. We could walk," Yugi suggested. There was a silence as they all thought it over.  
  
"Okay. Let's go," Tea jumped up and they all headed for the door.  
  
**Back with Joey**  
  
He stopped as he approached another store and contemplated whether or not he should try calling his friends again. Seeing that the store appeared abandoned he guessed that the payphone was probably unusable and continued on again. Suddenly a loud ringing started up. Joey jumped so high that he almost fell over. He spun around and eyed the dusty old payphone as it rung again. "Well, what could it hurt?" he said and walked over to pick it up. "Hello?"  
  
"Joey! What are you doing?" Joey's face paled.  
  
"Answering the phone. What are you doing?" he asked trying to keep his cool.  
  
"Don't tell me that you don't know who this is," the voice continued. Joey thought about it.  
  
"No. But the line is kinda...scratchy..." It was quiet on the other end of the line and Joey thought that maybe the other person had hung up and then he heard a sigh.  
  
"It's me, mutt."  
  
"What?! Now I really want to know what you're doing. Where the hell are you and why did you just leave me here? I've been walking for like an hour, it's hot, I still don't know where I am, and I'm supposed to meet my sister in like twenty minutes."  
  
"Turn around."  
  
"What?" Joey said turning around. Kaiba hung up the phone and looked at him pathetically. Joey hung up his phone as well and walked up to him angrily. "What the hell did you think you were doing?"  
  
"You were only supposed to walk down one block. But I guess you forgot to look both ways before crossing the street." Kaiba smiled finding humor in that.  
  
"Huh? What are you talking about? What was I supposed to be looking for?" Kaiba shrugged.  
  
"It doesn't matter now. I'm actually surprised you made it this far." Kaiba raised an arm and the limo pulled up. He opened the door for Joey. "I'll take you to see your sister. She's leaving today right?"  
  
"Yeah..." Joey said, wondering if he should really trust Kaiba again. He looked at his watch and decided to take his chances. 


	27. Sticky situation

They both sat in complete silence, neither wanting to say the first word. Kaiba stared blankly at the wall dividing them from the driver and Joey watched his feet as if they were the only thing that existed in the world. He moved them up onto the seat beside Kaiba and leaned against the window, boredly watching the houses and trees pass by. Kaiba down at them distastefully and opened his mouth to say something but moved his eyes up Joey's body to his face and decided against it. Joey felt the eyes on him and met them. Kaiba held the gaze for a few seconds before looking down.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said.  
  
"And?" Joey put his feet back down and crossed his arms. Kaiba looked back up.  
  
"Isn't that enough?" Joey dropped his arms.  
  
"No. You know what I want."  
  
"An explanation." A statement, not a question. Joey nodded in confirmation and leaned over so he wouldn't even miss one word of it.  
  
**At Tristan's house**  
  
' Where is everyone? I thought I told them to meet me here...' he thought as he let Serenity inside. The party had already been set up but as they entered the room, nobody jumped up to yell surprise or greet them. Tristan looked at his watch.  
  
"Oh Tristan, this is so beautiful. Did you do this yourself?" Serenity exclaimed looking around the room at all the decorations. Tristan shrugged.  
  
"I wish I could say I did but..."  
  
"Do you like it?" Duke came out of the kitchen. They looked at him uncomfortably and Serenity seemed to get closer to Tristan a little.  
  
"Why don't you go see if everything's all set up in the kitchen?" Tristan said to her. She looked at him a minute and then disappeared into the kitchen. Tristan grabbed Duke's arm and pulled him toward the front door. "What are you doing here?" he whispered angrily.  
  
"Saying good-bye to a friend. I was invited," Duke said acting innocent.  
  
"That was before you decided to... Duke. I want you to leave."  
  
"But I just..."  
  
"Well that's not good enough!" Joey's shouts were heard from outside. Their eyes shot to the front windows.  
  
"You didn't let me finish," Kaiba's voice followed.  
  
"I saw where that was going and believe me, you're finished." The front door opened and Joey came inside. "Hey guys, what's up?" Serenity, hearing her brother's voice, rushed out of the kitchen, smiling, as usual.  
  
"Joey!" she hugged him.  
  
"Hey sis. How do you like your party?"  
  
"I still can't believe you guys put this together without me knowing. When did you have time?" she replied her excitement returning.  
  
"For you? We made time. Right Tristan?" Joey looked at Tristan and Duke, ignoring the fact that Kaiba had followed him in. Tristan, still trying to figure out which was worse, Duke or Kaiba...just nodded weakly. Duke pat him on the back.  
  
"Absolutely," he said cheerfully. Tristan watched him walk into the kitchen but couldn't find the motivation to object.  
  
"So where are the rest of the guys?"  
  
--------  
  
"Are you sure that guy said to go this way? We've been walking forever," Yugi complained.  
  
"Yeah. I'm positive," Tea responded.  
  
"We're late for Serenity's part," Yugi pointed out looking at his watch.  
  
"We should call Tristan and let him know what's going on," Yami suggested.  
  
"Good idea." Tea pulled out her cell phone. "Awe, I don't believe this. There's no service out here," she said annoyed.  
  
"That's odd," Yami said.  
  
"We could go back and use the pay phone," Yugi said trying to help.  
  
"That's too far back. Maybe there's another one up here." Tea answered. "When we find that boy, he's in for it." She looked at her phone again. "Oh cool! I got service now!" She stopped and quickly dialed the number. She was surprised when Duke answered the phone.  
  
"Taylor residence," he said.  
  
"Where's Tristan?" she replied angrily.  
  
"He's around. Why? Don't you want to talk to me?"  
  
"No. Put Tristan on."  
  
"He's busy entertaining. What can I help you with?" Tea got annoyed and handed the phone to Yugi, taking a few steps forward away from them. Yugi looked at the phone confused and then put it to his ear.  
  
"Hello?" he said meekly.  
  
"Yugi? I don't believe this." He hung up. 


	28. Break up, or make up?

"He didn't waste any time, did he?" Duke said bitterly. He started to chop carrots for the salad. "I wasn't fallin' for that ' I'm in love with another guy,' act. I've known he was in love with Tea since the first day I'd seen them together. Always smiling and joking around. Well she's mine!" Duke threw the knife across the room, just as Joey walked in and it just barely missed him, embedding itself into the doorframe. Joey pulled it out and looked at Duke.  
  
"What's wrong with you? Bad hair day?" Joey said, oblivious to what was going on because of course...he hadn't been around for the past few days. Duke scowled.  
  
"No. And what's with bringing Kaiba? I figured this would be the last place he'd want to be," Duke said, equally oblivious.  
  
"I guess he's playing it low today."  
  
**In the other room**  
  
"So..." Tristan looked at Kaiba uncomfortably. For some reason, his presence always made him feel like he was in school again.  
  
"I'm glad that you came," Serenity broke in. "I know it's probably not as fancy as what you're used to but it really means a lot to me that you're here." Kaiba didn't respond.  
  
"Well, can I at least take your coat?" Tristan offered.  
  
"Where is it going to go?" Tristan pointed to a room down the hall.  
  
"Just my bedroom. You'll get it back." Kaiba walked down the hall into the bedroom. "Or you could take it yourself," Tristan said to himself. ' This isn't going how it was supposed to at all. And where the hell are Yugi and Tea?'  
  
----------  
  
Yugi looked at the phone in shock.  
  
"He hung up," he said. Tea turned back around.  
  
"Good," she whipped the phone out of his hand angrily.  
  
"But I didn't get to tell him where we were," Yugi said sounding hurt. Yami put a hand on his shoulder in comfort.  
  
"We'll just call him back," he said reaching for Tea's phone. Tea pulled away again.  
  
"I don't want to talk to that jerk."  
  
"You won't be, I will," Yami said.  
  
"But what if he hangs up on you too?" Yugi looked up at him.  
  
"He won't." Tea looked at him too and the reluctantly handed him the phone.  
  
"Just push the down arrow and hit send," she instructed. Yami followed her orders and put the phone to his ear.  
  
"Hello, Taylor residence," Joey answered.  
  
"Joey? What are you doing there?"  
  
"Where are you?" Joey asked confused.  
  
"Out looking for you."  
  
"Well I'm here...(faintly) – Joey, could you please go make sure that your friend isn't reorganizing my room or something. (Louder) Oh. I gotta go. Get here soon." He hung up. Yami pushed the phone back at Tea.  
  
"He's already there," he said bitterly and then started walking back toward town. Tea started after him.  
  
"Well this is just great," she said, just as bitter. Yugi sighed warily and followed them.  
  
**Back at Tristan's house.**  
  
"Why'd he go in your room to begin with?" Joey asked incredulously.  
  
"I offered to take him coat," Tristan shrugged. Joey rolled his eyes.  
  
"Fine, I'll be right back." Joey walked down the hallway to Tristan's room and hovered in the doorway. Kaiba was seated on the bed looking at a picture of Joey and Tristan. "Would it really have killed you to just let him take your coat?" Kaiba looked up and put the picture face on the desk beside him. Joey noticed that the other pictures had already been turned down.  
  
"Would it really kill you to listen to me?" Kaiba responded.  
  
"Do you always answer questions with questions?"  
  
"Do you always ignore answers when you need to justify your anger but can't?" Joey make a sound of protest.  
  
"Come on. You really expect me to believe that you had something special planned just around the corner. I DID look both ways before crossing and I didn't see a thing." Joey went into the room and started to set the pictures up again.  
  
"You didn't look hard enough."  
  
"Well if I had known you wanted me to look for something, I would have. But crossing the street only requires me to look out for cars. Maybe if you hadn't of..." Kaiba surprised him by standing up and he stopped.  
  
"Maybe if you weren't so stupid you would have seen the sign. I made it big enough for you," Kaiba said tired of being put down.  
  
"Maybe I would have if you'd just told me to walk down a block instead of pointing and acting like I knew where I was going."  
  
"Well sorry for thinking that you had some potential. I see how wrong I was now," Kaiba looked at him degradingly.  
  
"Maybe you shouldn't assume you know things. You're not God," Joey fired back, taking a step closer almost in threat. Kaiba crossed his arms.  
  
"You should be happy I'm not. I would have never let you be born."  
  
"Well if I were..." Joey stopped and started laughing. Then shrunk down onto Tristan's bed. Kaiba looked down at him confused.  
  
"What?" he dropped his arms.  
  
"Hell, if I were God, I'd keep you exactly the way you are," Joey said.  
  
"Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?"  
  
"No. It's supposed to be a compliment. To be honest, I DID see the sign, and the table all set up so nicely. I was just so angry that I didn't stop."  
  
"So you just got yourself lost out there because you were just too stubborn to stop? You're such an idiot," Kaiba shook his head and sat down beside him.  
  
"Only when I'm around you," Joey said and kissed him. Kaiba pushed him down on the bed.  
  
"Then you must be around me a lot," he smiled. Totally forgetting where they were, they became lost in each other...until someone cleared their throat behind them. Joey slipped out from under Kaiba and smiled embarrassed and Tristan.  
  
"Yugi and Tea just got here and they want to talk to you," Tristan said pointing at Joey. 


	29. The party

Tristan found it hard to make eye contact with either of them and instead of subjecting himself to more awkwardness, he walked back into the living room. Kaiba closed his eyes and took a deep breath then watched as Joey let out a nervous laugh and sat back down on the bed.  
  
"Well I'm pretty sure he's scarred for life," he said. Kaiba couldn't think of anything to say so he just shook his head. "Well..." Joey leaned over and brushed his lips over Kaiba's gently in a teasing way. "I guess we should find out what they want," he whispered as if the words were sacred. He stood up but Kaiba grabbed his arm.  
  
"He never said right now," Kaiba smiled slyly. He pulled him back down and started kissing him again. Joey managed enough self-control to pull himself away.  
  
"Come on, it's my sister's party," he protested.  
  
"That didn't matter five minutes ago," Kaiba said playfully. Joey gave him a stern look and stood up again.  
  
"I wasn't... Well it does now. Besides, I don't think Tristan would appreciate us staying in here." Kaiba gave in and they left the room. Yugi noticed them enter first.  
  
"Joey! We're so glad to see that you're okay," he said exuberantly.  
  
"I'm not. Next time you call and ask us to help you...I'm NOT helping," Tea said cynically. She headed for the bathroom.  
  
"I think I liked it better in there," Joey mumbled to himself as he noticed all the other angry and uncomfortable faces around the room.  
  
"We could always go back," Kaiba whispered close to his ear. Joey jumped, not realizing how close he'd been, then swatted at Kaiba as if he were a bug.  
  
"Don't stand so close," he said acting annoyed. This made everyone stop what they were doing to look at them...except Tristan who'd decided it was better to think about something else. He turned on his CD player and one of Serenity's favorite songs started to play. That's when Duke decided to come out of the kitchen with the food.  
  
"Who's hungry?" he asked trying his best to act like he was the happiest person alive. He put the tray down on a table that was set up near the side wall but nobody moved to get anything. "What's wrong with everybody? I feel like I just walked into a morgue," Duke said looking at everyone in turn.  
  
"Could we please not mention dead people in the presence of food?" Joey said making the first move toward the table. "Or my sister..." he added as an afterthought. She smiled and brought Tristan over to the table as well.  
  
"Thanks Joey," she said.  
  
"No prob," he replied his mouth already full of food. Duke nodded as if to say ' now that's better,' and went back into the kitchen to get the drinks. Yugi looked at Yami before joining them.  
  
"So Serenity, when's the next time you're coming back?" Yugi asked trying to keep the main focus on her.  
  
"I'll be back for the summer. My mother just doesn't want me to miss any more school," she answered. Tea came out of the bathroom then just as Duke was returning from the kitchen. Everyone except Joey and Kaiba watched them in anticipation, of what...they weren't quite sure. Tea just grabbed a plate and threw some things on it and then went back over to a chair near where Yami was. Duke put the tray of drinks down.  
  
"If you guys need anything else, just ask," he said, as if everything were normal. He grabbed a drink and sat down in a chair on the opposite side of the room.  
  
"Thanks Duke," Joey mumbled, his mouth still full of food. He grabbed the drink closest to him and washed everything down. "So sis, you gonna give me one last dance?" he asked tossing the cup into a nearby trashcan.  
  
"I'm not leaving forever Joey," she responded but let him take her out into the middle of the room. Tristan watched them dance happily for a minute but noticed Kaiba across the room and turned back to the table.  
  
"So Tristan, how do you feel?" Yugi asked.  
  
"I'd rather not talk about it," Tristan said a little on the defensive side and walked away. Yugi gave a confused look and walked back over to Yami and Tea.  
  
"Yugi, dance with me," Tea said almost immediately. Before Yugi could protest, she'd grabbed his arm, but Yami grabbed the other one.  
  
"I don't think that's the best idea right now," he said looking at Duke. Tea followed his gaze and let go of Yugi helplessly.  
  
"Well, somebody's going to dance with me," she said and before he knew what was going on, she'd pulled Kaiba out onto the floor. He didn't even know what he was doing but no matter how much he tried not to dance, the more Tea forced him to. Everyone else started laughing at how awkward they looked, which only made Kaiba's want to be out of there stronger. His cell phone started to ring, saving him, and he left Tea to dance alone.  
  
"Hello?" he answered the phone, plugging one ear to hear better.  
  
"Seto? Where are you?" Mokuba's voice answered.  
  
"I'm..." he looked around the room and tried to decide whether or not he should tell Mokuba the truth. "Why? What's wrong?" he decided to change the subject.  
  
"Nothing. I'm just wondering what's taking so long." Kaiba looked at his watch and noticed that it was close to dinner time.  
  
"Well I got a little tied up. I'll be home as soon as I can, okay?" Mokuba sighed but Kaiba couldn't tell what kind of sigh it was. Something in it did seem a little off though.  
  
"Alright," Mokuba replied.  
  
"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Kaiba asked getting concerned but not really knowing why.  
  
"No, everything's fine. I promise."  
  
"Alright," Kaiba said but still wasn't convinced. "I'll see you soon." He hung up.  
  
"Everything okay?" Joey said walking over. Kaiba nodded.  
  
"I have to go. Tell your sister I said to have a safe trip," he said heading for the door.  
  
"Will I see you later?" Joey asked. Kaiba hesitated, looking to see if anyone was within hearing distance.  
  
"I'll...let you know," he said. He left the house. 


	30. Truth be told

All Kaiba could think about when he walked into the house was what Joey had said about Mokuba being uncomfortable with their relationship. His initial reaction, if that was really true, would have been to tell him to get over it and move on, but Mokuba was his only family and he cared a great deal about his feelings so that response was out. Mokuba was waiting in the kitchen, leaning on the counter boredly.  
  
"So what's going on?" he asked standing directly in front of Mokuba, across the counter. Mokuba looked up and smiled.  
  
"Seto...you came home," he said.  
  
"You thought I wouldn't?" Mokuba looked away.  
  
"No. I just thought..." he trailed off. Kaiba put his hands on the counter and leaned forward a little to get Mokuba to look at him again.  
  
"Mokuba, don't be afraid to talk to me."  
  
"There's nothing to talk about. I was just hungry and I couldn't find that guy you hired," Mokuba said hopping down from the stool he'd been sitting on. Seto sighed and went to the refrigerator.  
  
"So what do you want?" he asked opening the door. Mokuba slipped between him and the refrigerator and grabbed a jar of pickles, then pulled a fork out of one of the drawers and took them over to the counter. Seto looked at him unamused. "You needed me to come home for that?" he asked closing the door.  
  
"No. This is just to hold me over. Surprise me," Mokuba said trying to open the jar. "And could you open this?" Seto rolled his eyes.  
  
"Mokuba. Come on. What's bothering you? And don't tell me nothing because I know you and you don't usually act like this." Mokuba put the jar down.  
  
"Do you like Joey more then me?"  
  
"What?" Seto said incredulous. "No. I just like Joey in a different WAY then you. It's a different type of relationship. I thought you were old enough to understand that."  
  
"I am. I just... I don't know how... I feel..." Mokuba searched for the right words. "I feel like you've...changed...and I don't want you to forget me." Seto smiled, a little relieved.  
  
"Mokuba, I can't even believe that would cross your mind."  
  
**At the airport**  
  
Joey and Tristan stood watching the plane take off and Tristan sighed. The rest of the gang had already said their good-byes and left the two of them alone to see Serenity off with more personal good-byes. Both of them had managed not to cry...too much.  
  
"So do you wanna go do somethin'? Take your mind off it?" Joey asked breaking the silence. Tristan looked away from the glass but didn't look at him.  
  
"You mean you don't have plans?" he said, more rudely then intended. Immediately he regretted it but Joey either didn't feel like fighting or hadn't picked up on the hostility.  
  
"No," he said simply. "I figured we'd both be a little bummed so I shouldn't leave you to be bummed alone." There was a brief silence. "So, you wanna?" Joey asked again. Tristan shrugged.  
  
"I hear there's been some new high score records to beat at the arcade," he said. Joey smiled.  
  
"Then what are we waiting for? Those scores won't beat themselves." They both headed out of the airport.  
  
---------  
  
Raine: I know, I know. It's really short and I made you wait. There's just so much stuff going on and it's making me lose my mind and it's a wonder that I can even still think. So, with that said. It might be awhile before I get to update again. Unless someone wants to helps me out with ideas. Well I got to go. Thanks to all of you for the wonderful reviews. They really mean a lot to me. 


	31. The good old times

"Stop doing that! He's not here," Tristan scolded, bringing over a few sodas and some fries. Joey flinched and stopped looking around.  
  
"You never know," he said digging in to the fries.  
  
"If I had known you'd be acting like this the whole time I wouldn't have agreed to come. Look at you, you're acting like Tea used to," Tristan said, eating a few fries himself.  
  
"Was that your way of calling me a girl?"  
  
"No. I was giving you an example that you'd understand."  
  
"Is that your way of calling me stupid?"  
  
"No," Tristan repeated. "If I wanted to call you stupid I just would."  
  
"Is that..."  
  
"Shut up! You're being stupid." Joey smiled but Tristan couldn't tell if it was in triumph or just because he liked being called stupid. Either way, the smile didn't make much sense.  
  
"So how close did we get?" Joey said as they threw out their trash and went back over to the game.  
  
"We still need 1200 points. This MAC guy is really hard to beat."  
  
"I just can't believe they beat Kai..." Joey cut himself off.  
  
"Oh just say it. You won't be happy until you make this whole night just all about him. Well, what parts of it you didn't already. You're worse then a girl. You're an infatuated girl."  
  
"Hey! Take that back!" Joey went to hit him but he moved out of the way so Joey pounced and they both fell down laughing. "I missed this," Joey said picking himself up. Tristan stayed and looked up at him.  
  
"I don't know. I slept a lot better without all the bruises." Joey laughed an helped him up. "So, shall we finish?" Tristan ushered to the game.  
  
"After you," Joey offered.  
  
"Lady's first," Tristan smirked. Joey scowled and went to attack but Tristan sprinted off, nearly knocking over a kid on the way out.  
  
"Get back here, ya coward!" Joey ran after him.  
  
**At Kaiba Mansion  
**  
"So tell me what you want to eat," Kaiba said. "Besides pickles," he added as an afterthought. Mokuba pushed the jar to the edge of the counter away from him.  
  
"I don't know. I just want something," Mokuba answered.  
  
"Alright. Well while you think about it I'm going to go finish up some work." He started to walk away.  
  
"Pizza," Mokuba blurted out. Kaiba turned around.  
  
"Pizza?" he started to protest and then, "Well I guess if that's what you want. Order in or out?"  
  
"Out," Mokuba said, glad to have any reason to leave the house. He'd hated being stuck there all day.  
  
"I'll have the car pull around."  
  
Ten minutes later on the way to the pizza place Mokuba looked out the window as they were passing the park and saw Joey wrestling Tristan to the ground. He looked at his brother to see if he'd noticed but Seto was reading the owners manual of the car. Not wanting to call attention to himself or what, or rather – who – he saw, Mokuba turned back to the window as if everything were normal. Seto glanced over sideways but didn't lower the book.  
  
"You're not going to be okay with this are you?" he said looking back at the book. Mokuba turned around.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Mokuba played innocent. Kaiba put the book back under the seat and looked at his brother.  
  
"Joey. You don't like him?" Kaiba suggested. Mokuba looked down.  
  
"No, it's not that. I don't like the way he acts. I'm nine and I act more mature then him." Kaiba smiled.  
  
"He just has a different way of expressing himself," he said looking past Mokuba out the window, as if it were playing a movie that only he could see. Mokuba noticed the smile.  
  
"Do you love him?" Kaiba's smile faded and his expression became cold and distant.  
  
"Well it looks like we're here," he said as the driver opened the door to let them out. They went into the restaurant. 


	32. Distractions

Two days later...  
  
Joey kicked a rock that was on the sidewalk. _' Well he IS a busy person. Things come up when you run a whole company. He probably just hasn't had time,'_ he thought to himself.  
  
"Hey Joey! Wait up!"  
  
_' Or maybe he's just giving me some time to hang out with my friends. I mean it's not like we have to report to each other about everything. We haven't even been out on a real date or anything.'  
_  
"Joey!"  
  
_' And he does have a family. And I DID tell him to talk to Mokuba. Maybe he needs time to work things out.'  
_  
"Joey?!"  
  
_' He still should have called or sent a message or something to let me...'_ Joey tripped on something and fell to the ground. A snicker followed. He pushed himself up and turned around to face a very shocked and embarrassed Yugi trying to hide behind Tristan, who was smiling and shaking his head.  
  
"I told you I could get his attention," he said. Joey scowled and got up.  
  
"Hey, that wasn't nice. You coulda just..."  
  
"Called you?" Tristan answered for him. "We did." They started walking toward school again.  
  
"Yeah Joey. Where were you?" Yugi asked. "You seemed a million miles away."  
  
"Sorry. I was just thinking about something," Joey shrugged. He continued before Tristan could comment. "So what do you think the teacher's gonna do to me?"  
  
"Oh. I totally forgot about that," Tristan responded, suddenly annoyed. "I just hope you didn't mess up ALL the grades because I can't afford to fail again. My Mom already said that she..."  
  
"Oh stop. Your mom freaks out about everything," Joey waved a hand to brush the complaint away.  
  
"She's never unreasonable about it," Tristan defended.  
  
"Hey guys. Running late again?" Tea met them as they entered the schoolyard.  
  
"Not any later then usual," Joey commented. The bell rang.  
  
"I knew I shouldn't have waited for you," Tea rolled her eyes and started toward the school. Yugi looked at his watch confused.  
  
"But it's only..." Joey yanked him forward as they raced inside. They slipped in just as the teacher was closing the door. She looked at them a little annoyed but let then go to their seats without confrontation. Joey looked over toward Kaiba's seat but there was nothing there to look back...or even not to. The teacher cleared her throat and his eyes shot back to the front of the room, but his attention was still on that empty chair.  
  
Kaiba stood in the hallway with his hand on the door but he couldn't bring himself to open it. One question had haunted his mind for two days and the more he thought about it the more he didn't want to face it. But this wasn't like him. He wasn't one to harbor fear. Was it even fear? Or course not, it couldn't be. Kaiba shook his head and turned the knob.  
  
"They have been found to..."  
  
The door started to open and all eyes moved to see who was coming in. Everything seemed to pause in anticipation but it slipped closed again.  
  
"The wind is very playful today," the teacher called their attention back to the front of the classroom. Joey's gaze lingered on the door and he sighed as the excitement that maybe it was Kaiba disappeared. But not for long, because a few seconds later the door opened again and Kaiba walked in. Joey sat up straight and leaned forward as if he needed to say something important but Kaiba sat down without even a glance. Joey looked at Yugi who just shrugged. "Well, now that you're all here. I'll get to what we really need to discuss," the teacher interrupted any thoughts that had been started.  
  
----------  
  
Raine: Okay. I know you're all going to kill me for this one but I...have my reasons. On a different note, I'm going to give a big thanks to mandapandabug and say hey, I'm going to use your idea. What I need from you guys now, is a play I can use. So just spout off some plays that teenagers can act out. Thanks. 


	33. The wrong answer

Raine: I love the idea of a musical. That would be pretty funny but it's hard to write...and I really haven't found a good one yet. Although, My Fair Lady does happen to be my ALL TIME FAVORITE movie...musicals I guess, just seem a little too mature for a group of teenagers. Especially since half of them can't sit through one without falling asleep. But maybe that would make it more fun...hmmmmm.... Anyway, thanks for all the great ideas. I'm still debating (if you couldn't tell) but it'll be up soon. Thanks for your patience. And again, don't kill me.  
  
------------  
  
"Since a few of you decided that your improvisations were more suited for the story then what was written, I've decided to let you redeem yourselves by putting together another play. In Ten school days I expect every one of you to be out on the stage, in character, performing, for me and only me. And just to be sure you take this serious this time, this play will be worth fifty percent of your final reading grade. So if you decide that you don't like something about it, you fail." Noises of shock and displeasure passed through the room and a few angry looks made their way to Joey.  
  
"Thanks a lot Joe. Remind me later that I hate you," Tristan grumbled. Kaiba looked at him sideways but quickly went back to ignoring them when Joey looked over.  
  
"Hey, it wasn't ALL my fault," Joey said in his defense.  
  
"Technically, you did provoke him," Yugi leaned over and whispered.  
  
"Well yeah...then I guess it was. I already said I was sorry...didn't I?" Joey tried to remember. Tristan just rolled his eyes.  
  
"And it's entirely up to you how it all turns out because once I assign parts, the rest of the play is up to you," the teacher continued. "I'll leave you class time but I won't contribute to anything that goes on in that time. So you better learn to work together to get this thing in order."  
  
"What's the play?" A girl asked from the seat next to Ryou.  
  
"I'll let you know when we reach that period after lunch. First we'll get all the other things that we need to do out of the way. So, take out your math books and we'll get started." Everyone else started to open their math books but Joey sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. Of course he wasn't even thinking about the play. The only thing he wanted to deal with right then, was Kaiba. He couldn't understand why one minute he was all over him and the next he was...well, not. Was Kaiba uncomfortable being seen with him in public? That wasn't like Kaiba at all. Kaiba was fearless. He did what he wanted to, when he wanted to, and he didn't care what other people thought. So did that mean that Kaiba didn't really want to be with Joey? But did that make sense?  
  
Joey looked over at Kaiba again, the questions just growing more and more. Well he'd have to find out sooner or later. He wouldn't let anyone take advantage of him the way that Kaiba seemed to be.  
  
He waited until the lunch bell rang and followed Kaiba down the hall. When it seemed that nobody was paying attention he pulled Kaiba into an empty classroom. Kaiba scowled and turned around angrily to face him.  
  
"What's your problem?" he asked shaking himself from Joey's grip.  
  
"What's my problem?" Joey asked dubiously. "What's yours? You're the one pretending to be a jerk. Oh wait, maybe you aren't pretending." Kaiba rolled his eyes and went to leave but Joey slipped between him and his exit.  
  
"What do you want from me?" Kaiba asked.  
  
"I want you to talk to me," Joey said. Kaiba took a step back involuntarily.  
  
"Talk... About what?" he crossed his arms.  
  
"About anything," Joey sighed and walked back into the room. "What's going on?" Kaiba dropped his arms.  
  
"I talked to my brother," he said.  
  
"And?"  
  
"He asked me a simple question. And you know what?" Before Joey could answer he continued. "I couldn't answer it. Do you know what that told me?"  
  
"No, but I suppose you're going to tell me."  
  
"It told me that this, us, isn't going to work."  
  
"So, you thought you'd...you'd...what? Ignore me until I went away. Things don't work like that. Seto, let me ask for something." Joey looked at him trying to keep the conversation calm. Kaiba stayed quiet to let him talk. "Why is this question so important?"  
  
Silence. Joey could almost feel the tension that was building up.  
  
"Because the answer...was no," Kaiba said closing his eyes. He was still trying to figure out how they'd gotten there. Now he couldn't figure out how to get out. It was like he had used Joey to appease some selfish desire that he couldn't explain but that he himself couldn't fill. But why Joey and why now?  
  
"Oh. So you know now... Well what was the question?" Joey moved closer to him. Kaiba couldn't meet his eyes.  
  
"It doesn't even matter now," he said. Joey withdrew and Kaiba watched him walk to the doorway.  
  
"Well, if you think it means that I shouldn't be here...then, I won't be." Joey left, masking his hurt with the thought that maybe it wasn't real. That maybe it had never happened to begin with. That maybe...the past few days...was still a part of the play. 


	34. One of those days

"Hey Joey! Over here!" Yugi called as Joey entered the lunchroom. Joey smiled and waved then walked over to the lunch line.  
  
"He seems different," Ryou commented as he came up behind Tea. Yugi looked from Ryou to Joey and a confused look swept across his face. Ryou sat down.  
  
' Maybe he doesn't mean in a bad way,' Yami tried to lower the confusion.  
  
But then Kaiba entered the lunchroom. Tea and Tristan sent him two cold stares and Yugi managed a confused smile but Kaiba ignored them and found a spot off in a corner somewhere. Tea leaned in closer to the three boys.  
  
"I knew he was going to be trouble the moment Joey admitted he liked him," she said like it was a secret.  
  
"Joey likes Kaiba?" Ryou asked leaning in closer as well.  
  
"Kaiba's still Kaiba," Tristan shrugged, ignoring Ryou. "Joey should have known better."  
  
"We don't even know if Kaiba's what made Joey upset. If upset is even what he is. I just said he seems different," Ryou interjected pulling away. He started to eat his food.  
  
"Of course it's Kaiba. Everything is always Kaiba's fault," Tristan replied.  
  
"That's not very nice Tristan," Yugi said taking a glance in Kaiba's direction.  
  
"So, what are we talking about?" Duke said sitting down next to Tristan. The four of them looked at him. "What?" he asked acting uneasy. "It was just a question."  
  
"Hey guys," Joey said taking his usual spot beside Yugi. Only Yugi seemed to notice that his back was to where Kaiba was and he hadn't even looked over once.  
  
' Maybe there is something going on,' Yugi thought, watching Joey start to eat his food. ' But everything seems normal.'  
  
' It's impolite to stare,' Yami warned. Yugi quickly looked away.  
  
"Sorry," he said quietly.  
  
"For what?" Joey asked puzzled. Yugi shrugged and started on his own food.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"So, what do you think this new play will be?" Joey asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. I hate you," Tristan said shaking his head. "I really don't care because I think the play was a stupid idea to begin with."  
  
"I'm actually rather curious myself," Ryou cut in.  
  
"Well I'm okay, as long as I don't have to kill anyone again," Yugi said.  
  
"So what are you and Yami doing after school? Is your grandpa home yet?" Tea asked changing the subject.  
  
"Kind of. He came home for like a day and then said he had to leave again. But as far as I know he's still home," Yugi shrugged.  
  
"He probably just wants to get away from you," Duke mumbled under his breath. They all looked at him. "I mean that's great. I hope his friend gets better," he smiled happily. They all went back to eating.  
  
"Well he actually said that he's getting worse. That's why he was going back. He's got some kind of disease that he caught on a..." Suddenly Joey stood up and walked away, leaving his tray on the table. They all watched him walk over to where Kaiba was. Kaiba looked up surprised as Joey sat down across from him, the both of them getting curious and confused looks from everywhere around the room.  
  
"I really don't think you expect me to believe that one little question could change your mind that quickly. Come on, what was the question?" Joey asked looking at him challengingly. Kaiba was too shocked to think of a quick response.  
  
"I..." Kaiba stopped, the original shock wearing down. "What are you doing?" he asked with a mixture of annoyance and a different kind of shock.  
  
"I'm trying to..." Joey looked around suddenly feeling vulnerable. His tough guy defenses took over. "How the hell should I know?" He shrugged, stood up, and left the room. Yugi, Tristan and Tea exchanged looks.  
  
"What's the deal with Joey?" Duke asked, not seeing what they all did. (Still oblivious).  
  
"He's...just...having one of those days," Yugi said, not able to think of anything else. 


	35. The New Story

"The story is actually only a small piece of a series of stories," the teacher started as she passed out the play. "I took the liberty of writing it up as a play for you. I really think you guys will enjoy this."  
  
"THINK, is the operative word," Tristan said sarcastically. He grabbed a packet from Tea and looked it over. "I can't even read this, look at how it's written."  
  
"You don't have to understand it to quote it," Yugi offered, trying to lighten his mood. Tristan didn't respond and Yugi looked to Joey for help. Joey however, didn't even seem aware that class had even started again.  
  
"Now it is a love story but it's not the same kind. But since Joey decided to be such a big shot last time, he and Mr. Kaiba have been cast as the two main characters, Palamon and Arcite." Joey looked up at the sound of his name but looked no closer to understanding what was going on. He glanced over at Yugi, noticing his look of concern, and straightened up in his chair uncomfortably. "I'm sure you boys will have fun. Two cousins, sworn into brotherhood, broken apart by their love for the same woman. Ally will play that woman, Emelye." This caused Joey to look down at the packet that had been placed on his desk. _' The Knight's Tale,'_ stood prominent at the top. With ' excerpted from Geoffrey Chaucer's, _"The Canterbury Tales,"_ ' underneath. Joey looked over at Yugi and Tristan skeptically.  
  
"She's got to be kidding," he said, causing both of them to look at him. Tristan shrugged.  
  
"Hey, at least you don't have to kiss anyone this time," he said. Joey scowled but couldn't keep himself from glancing at Kaiba. He got that far away look in his eyes again and turned back to his packet in thought.  
  
"Tristan is playing Theseus. Yugi, Perotheus. Tea..." the teacher droned on the parts and everyone searched through their papers to find them, none of them finding them to be any more then two or three lines.  
  
"Hey, it says I'm a great conqueror," Tristan smiled, pointing at a line on the page.  
  
"It also says you're a duke," Yugi responded, reading further.  
  
"I hope I'm not like Duke. That would..."  
  
"What's wrong with being like Duke?" Duke spoke up defensively.  
  
"Do you really want him to answer that?" Tea said acidly. Duke looked at her but she was pretending to ignore him.  
  
"Yes, I think I just might," he replied matter-of-factly.  
  
"He didn't mean to start anything," Yugi tried to stop anything from beginning.  
  
"I don't remember asking for YOUR opinion?" Duke spat out harshly. Yugi quieted, a little taken back.  
  
"You didn't have to, it was an open discussion," Tea spat back at him.  
  
"Well I really wouldn't go as far as saying..."  
  
"Shut up Tristan!" Duke and Tea said in unison. Tristan withdraw as well. The teacher cleared her throat but they didn't seem to notice.  
  
"You always have to control everything don't you?" Tea went on angrily.  
  
"Well at least I don't..."  
  
"Excuse me!" the teacher shouted, cutting him off. Tea crossed her arms and turned away.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said instantly. Duke rolled his eyes.  
  
"Thank you. But anyway, as I was saying, the rest of class is yours to figure out what you're doing and hopefully you won't use it up fighting." She moved behind her desk. "If you need to go anywhere though, don't forget to ask." She sat down. Yugi looked to Joey again.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked. Joey took a minute to register that he was being spoken to and then looked over.  
  
"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine," he responded.  
  
"Are you sure because...you don't seem fine," Yugi pushed.  
  
"I said I was fine alright," Joey snapped. His mood suddenly shifted and shook his head. "Sorry Yug'. I've just got a lot on my mind with everything that's been happening."  
  
"You're upset about your sister leaving, aren't you?"  
  
"Y...yeah, that's it. I guess I just miss her," Joey shrugged and looked away, starting to doodle on the side of his papers.  
  
"I wonder what she's doing right now," Tristan sighed sadly. They both looked over.  
  
"She's probably trying to forget that she ever met you," Joey said making an attempt at a joke. Tristan just sighed again.  
  
"Yeah, I hope so..." Yugi and Joey looked at each other confused, then looked back at him for an explanation. "I mean, I wouldn't want her to be unhappy...you know, because she can't be near me right now." Joey shook his head.  
  
"You're so full of yourself. She's probably telling all her friends about the stupid..." Joey cut himself off as the word came out of his mouth. For some reason it felt like the word had lost it's meaning and even developed a totally different one but that it couldn't be uttered by anyone like him. "The...a...big p...pushover she found to do everything she asked him to," he tried to recover. "I...a... I'll be right back." Joey got up and went up to the teacher's desk. They exchanged words and the teacher handed him the hall pass. He left the room. Yugi looked at Tristan.  
  
"I think..." he started.  
  
"Already got you covered," Tristan stood up and exited the room, not even asking for permission. 


	36. Disturbing Attraction

Tristan found Joey right outside the door, leaning against the wall. He slid down to the floor as Tristan approached.  
  
"What's going on with you man? I've never seen you act like this," Tristan said stopping next to him. "Well I guess that's not true. You were pretty crazy when cheese doodles went on sale at the super market."  
  
"They were buy one get one," Joey defended himself. "And they're cheese doodles. Nobody can pass up cheese doodles on sale."  
  
"Well as far as I know, they're not on sale this week. Or do you know something I don't. Because if you're holdin' out..." Joey stopped him by shaking his head.  
  
"No, not that I know of."  
  
"So what is it? Bad meatballs at lunch? I hear that some foods can really mess someone up..."  
  
"No, it wasn't anything I ate. You wouldn't want to know."  
  
"Joe. Would I be asking if I didn't want to know?"  
  
"You guys okay?" Yugi stepped out of the classroom. Tristan turned around and Joey leaned over to look past him at Yugi. Joey smiled.  
  
"You guys are great, you know that?" he said. Yugi came over to them. " I couldn't ask for better friends. But...I think..." Noise filled the hall as the rest of the class entered it. Ryou walked over to them.  
  
"We decided it's be easier to practice down in the auditorium because there's more room," he told them. "And it would really help if Joey was there." Joey looked up at him.  
  
"Well I AM the star," he shrugged and stood up. "Well at least one of them," he said sullenly as he watched Kaiba pass by. They followed everyone to the auditorium.  
  
"Okay so, can we just go over our lines and pretend we're doing what it says," a boy said, climbing up onto the stage. They went through the first part of the play without trouble. Then it came time for Joey and Kaiba to enter. "Joey, you and Kaiba stand over there." The boy pointed to a spot.  
  
"Who put you in charge?" Joey asked, following the instructions.  
  
"Does it matter? We have to do all this anyway. Who cares who tells who to do what? And it was you guys who got us into this in the first place so I'd watch it if I were you," the boy went on sharply.  
  
"Do we have to keep bringing that up?" Joey asked, a little tired of hearing it.  
  
"Yes," the boy and Tristan said together.  
  
"Just listen to him Joey," Tristan added.  
  
"I'm here, aren't I?" Joey said indicating the spot.  
  
"Yeah, but where's Kaiba?" They all scanned the room for the missing student. Yugi and Ryou peaked out into the hallway and then turned back and shook their heads.  
  
"Oh great, he ditched us," Tea rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, that's just like him," Joey mumbled under his breath. But almost instantly he was cursing himself. "He just has a different way of feeling things. He'll come around..." he whispered. ' Yeah, keep telling yourself that,' a voice inside his head said doubtfully. Joey closed his eyes in frustration.  
  
"Well we need him here," the boy insisted. "Someone go find him." Everyone looked away and started making excuses for why they couldn't go. The very thought of telling Seto Kaiba that he needed to do something was unsettling to all of them. The boy became agitated. "Fine, we'll improvise. Yugi, get up there and say Kaiba's lines."  
  
"Me?" Yugi walked closer to the stage.  
  
"You're Joey's best friend. It'll be just like playing yourself." Yugi gave in and went up on the stage and over to where Joey was. "Ally, you're next. Go over there near them and pretend you're picking flowers." Ally started toward Joey and Yugi and winked.  
  
"I'm really looking forward to working with you boys today," she smiled flirtatiously. She brushed passed them and over to a spot downstage from where they were. Yugi closed his eyes and turned his back to her as if it had been a nightmare and would disappear when he opened them again, and Joey gave Tristan a sarcastic ' well this is just great,' look. Tristan just shrugged and moved off the stage.  
  
"We're not in first grade Yug'," Joey said noticing him. Yugi opened his eyes and looked at his friend.  
  
"Somehow...that just felt wrong," Yugi said quietly.  
  
"There's some things that we just can't control," Joey said. Yugi shook his head.  
  
"Yami begs to differ."  
  
"Well Yami's different."  
  
"Can we please just get on with this?" the boy who thought he was in charge said impatiently.  
  
"Chill out. We've got like two weeks," Joey said, getting a little annoyed. The boy just gave him another ' just get this over with' look. "Fine. Yug', you're supposed to be sleeping."  
  
"Do you want me to lie down?"  
  
"No. You don't need to get THAT into it. Just...know that you're sleeping," Joey said.  
  
"Okay," Yugi nodded happily.  
  
"_And in the garden, as the sun up-rose,  
She sauntered back and forth and through each close,  
Gathering many a flower, white and red,  
To weave a delicate garland for her head;  
And Palamon, the woeful prisoner,  
As was his wont, by leave of his gaoler,  
Was up and pacing round that chamber high,  
From which the noble city filled his eye_," the narrator started.  
  
Joey started pacing in a small circle.  
  
"_And, too, the garden full of branches green,  
Wherein bright Emily, fair and serene,  
Went walking and went roving up and down.  
This sorrowing prisoner, this Palamon,  
Being in the chamber, pacing to and fro,  
And to himself complaining of his woe._"  
  
"I curse my birthright for getting me here," Joey said. Then he stopped pacing and moved toward where Ally was as if he'd just passed by a window and she'd caught his eye. "Ah!" he said acting surprised but with a look that said it was love at first sight. Tristan started laughing and everyone looked at him angrily, but soon most of the other kids were laughing too. Joey rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to act here!" he yelled.  
  
"I'm sorry, it just looks ridiculous without a wall being there," Tristan said between laughs.  
  
"You know, he does have a point," Yugi said holding back his own laugh.

The bell rang and everyone started toward the doors.  
  
"Well, I thought you were great," Ally said from right behind him. He jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to face her. She smiled. "A little jumpy, aren't we?" She poked him in the side right under his ribs playfully and walked by him to leave. He jumped again at the touch and winced a little. "See you tomorrow," she said and waved before disappearing into the hallway of people. Yugi and Tristan looked at him in complete shock.  
  
"Looks like someone has an admirer," Duke said pulling Joey into a playful headlock. Joey slipped away from him and hopped off the stage and over to Tristan.  
  
"Dude. She's like the hottest girl in school. Until today...she didn't even acknowledge your existence. I don't believe this," Tristan said still dumbfounded.  
  
"Maybe she just really liked Joey's acting," Yugi suggested walking to the edge of the stage.  
  
"You guys are all crazy," Joey shook his head and headed for the exit. They all watched him leave.  
  
"Well I'd go for it," Duke said jumping off the stage right after Yugi did. Tristan raised his eyebrows. "Well, if I hadn't have met Tea," he covered.  
  
"You know she's never going to take you back," Tristan said, pushing Yugi toward the door.  
  
"We'll just have to wait and see."


	37. Rejected again

_Seto, I want to..._ (scribbles it out)  
  
_Seto, I think that..._ (scribbles that out too)  
  
_Se..._  
  
"So what's Seto? A new game or something?" Joey crumpled up the paper and looked up at his father.  
  
"No. It's nothing." He tossed the paper toward the trashcan and missed causing it to roll back toward him.  
  
"You wrote it all over the TV Guide and I think I heard you talking about it in your sleep. A new food? Is it good?"  
  
"Food? Well, I guess in a... No, it's nothing," he repeated more vehemently.  
  
"Well sorry. Tristan's on the phone." He held out the phone.  
  
"Thanks," Joey said reluctantly taking it. "Hello," he said boredly.  
  
"What were you doing?" Tristan asked.  
  
"What do you want?" Joey ignored the question.  
  
"Can't I just call to say hello?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh, well, I feel loved. What, do I have to change my name to Set..." Joey hung up the phone. Almost instantly it started to ring again. Joey answered it but didn't say anything as he held it up to his ear. He pulled his book bag over to him and pulled out his homework. Grabbing a pen he started to draw pictures where the answers should have been. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was out of line. I should have just said that not everyone gets..." Joey hung up again but this time it took several minutes for it to start ringing again. Not losing focus on his main task, he answered the phone again.  
  
"You forget the number?" Joey asked, stopping his current drawing to actually answer one of the questions.  
  
"You didn't even let me get to the good part. How do you know it wasn't going to be a compliment?" Joey made a sound of disbelief. "Alright, so it wasn't very nice. I'll just have to get you when I see you. Anyway. About this whole Ally thing..."  
  
"I'm not interested," Joey moved on to the next page.  
  
"But, you'd be letting down every guy in the world of guys if you don't even give it a chance to..."  
  
"Sorry Tristan. I didn't know my decisions effected every guy," Joey replied sarcastically.  
  
"Come on. Just because you had one make-out session with Kaiba doesn't make you gay. I know you. Last year all you could talk about was that girl in study hall. The summer before that was Jaime. Before her it was Paige. You can't tell me that one unexplained, misjudged attraction to a jerk that won't even talk to you anymore is enough to change your whole way of life." It was quiet on Joey's end of the line. "Joey, are you even listening?" Joey stopped his doodling and stood up, going over to his window.  
  
"No. I stopped paying attention at hello. Bye Tristan." Joey hung up again. He sighed and tossed the phone onto his bed, not bothering to answer it when it started to ring again. He would be lying to say that he didn't feel any attraction to Ally and her flirtations, he was after all still a guy, but what he shared with Kaiba went deeper then just simple attraction and he knew that Tristan or any of his other friends would never understand that. And that was why he wasn't ready to give up on Kaiba just yet. He just needed to figure out what to say to him to get him back.  
  
He left the phone ringing on his bed and left the house to go for a walk.  
  
At Kaiba Corp  
  
Kaiba looked at the eight screens in front of him boredly.  
  
"This is what you call an emergency?" he asked annoyed.  
  
"Well we weren't sure what to do," one of the men answered. Kaiba looked at him but didn't say anything. The man backed up a few steps and looked to his other associates for help but none of them seemed to want to be there anymore then he did. "H...how do you want to handle it...s...sir?" the man stuttered. Kaiba rolled his eye and shook his head.  
  
"You're all fired. So I suggest with all the free time you have now, that you go back to school and find out how to actually DO your jobs." He hit a few keys on a keypad by the screens and the problem was resolved. "Have a good day gentleman." He left them all standing in the room unable to comprehend everything that had just happened. Halfway down the hallway Kaiba stopped, suddenly stricken with guilt. He lingered a moment, uncomfortable with the feeling, so then he closed his eyes and pushed it aside continuing on his way out. He cursed himself for the day he'd decided to take a chance on something new.  
  
The next day at school was normal, except that instead of being a few minutes late, Joey showed up around lunchtime. He avoided all the stares as he moved to his seat only to stand up again as the bell rang for lunch. He stopped at his locker on the way to the lunchroom.  
  
"We were beginning to think that..." Tristan started.  
  
"Alarm clock didn't go off. Yugi can relate," Joey interrupted him. Yugi blushed at the statement.  
  
"We're just glad that you're okay," he said trying to hide the embarrassment.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Joey closed his locker door and walked away. Tristan turned to Yugi.  
  
"Is it me or has Joey suddenly become Mr. Avoidance?" he asked. Yugi shrugged.  
  
"He just has a lot on his mind, I guess."  
  
"Like what? His mind can't process too much at one time." They started toward the lunchroom.  
  
"I think you underestimate Joey too much," Yugi said.  
  
"And where was he going? The only thing down that way is the library." Yugi just shrugged.  
  
In the School Library  
  
Joey pulled the nearest book off the shelf and opened it. After scanning it and seeing words like privation and contumacious he closed it again and put it back.  
  
"Just because you know where to find them won't make me believe that you're smart enough to read them," a voice came from behind him. Joey turned to face Kaiba, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. "What are you doing?" He dropped his arms and moved toward him, reaching behind him to straighten the book he'd just put back.  
  
"Well I thought that..."  
  
"Yeah. I know what you thought." Kaiba walked past him, toward the back of the library. "Go back to playing nice with your friends like a good dog and leave the thinking to the people who actually know how to." He disappeared around a corner and Joey looked back at the shelf of books. Forgetting why he'd gone in there to begin with and not ready to confront Kaiba again just yet, he exited and started toward the lunchroom. 


	38. Ally

Raine: I can honestly tell you that I don't remember writing those last two chapters. My mind has been in such a blur over everything that's going on I just don't know what I'm doing anymore. I wish I could go back to when life made sense but I still have another three weeks to go. So if this all seems weird or dark or confusing or even stupid, it's because I'm really not sure what I'm writing at all. Maybe when I get my head back I can fix whatever it is that I did to this story but right now, my mind is just mush. Sorry if I disappointed anyone. I'm really not trying to mess this up, it just kinda turned out that way.

------------

_"Hey mutt, you forgot something," Kaiba called after him. He stopped and turned around. Kaiba looked at him expectantly then waited as he walked back over._

_"What? Did you forget to diss my hair or something?" Joey asked half bored, half annoyed._

_"No. You forgot to wait for my apology." Kaiba pushed him up against the wall and Joey eyes closed as Kaiba leaned in._

"Why do you let him treat you like that?" Joey's eyes snapped back open as he noticed that someone was following him. The pictures he'd formed quickly subsided.

"Ally. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Returning. I was on my way out when Kaiba came in."

"Oh," Joey kept walking as if he were ignoring her.

"So why do you let him treat you like that?" she repeated, still following.

"I don't let him treat me like anything and I really don't know why you care so much."

"Well okay..." It was quiet a moment as she thought over what else she was going to say. "You live over by the..."

"Liquor store? Sadly yes and I loathe that fact every day," Joey rolled his eyes and looked down thinking about his father's drinking problem. He never told very many people about that.

"Well I live two blocks over from that. But you walk to school?"

"Yeah, so," Joey said trying to see if she were taking this somewhere.

"No wonder you're always late." Joey stopped walking as they approached the cafeteria and looked at her.

"Is there a point to all this?" he asked. She sighed.

"Come in and eat lunch with me and I'll try to figure out a way to explain myself. I want to ask you for your help. And I want to say that I'm sorry. Yesterday..." she didn't finish the thought.

"Help? What? I didn't understand any of that," Joey ran the sentences over in his head again to see if maybe he'd missed something.

"Well just, sit down with me. I won't keep you long." She put a hand to his arm gently to indicate how much she wanted him to listen but slipped it away again and shook her head. "I just feel like I've given you a bad impression and I don't want that to be the way things stay."

"I still don't know where this is all coming from but I guess it wouldn't hurt. Just don't be offended if I say something stupid." She smiled.

"You have a deal." They went into the lunchroom together.

After getting lunch and sitting down at a table by themselves in a corner, she started.

"First, I want to say that I'm sorry about yesterday. My friends and I were talking about you and Yugi and one of them dared me to ask you out to see if you guys were...well, to put it simply, together. Before you even start to explain that look that just came to your face, let me finish. I didn't go that far because frankly, it's none of my business or theirs and it's just plain rude to even assume something like that without having any basis except the fact that you're always around each other. Word was going around that Yugi was...well, like that, and they started saying...things..."

"Like that we were together?" Joey looked toward Yugi and his other friends as the idea hit him. Skepticism covered his face at the very thought. " That's crazy. Yugi's..."

"To cute to be gay?" Ally broke in before he could explain anything. "Yeah, that's what I said. So that's great. It actually a relief to know, even though I still believe this was the wrong way to go about it." She rushed on, her sentences coming out so fast that it was hard to understand what she was even saying. But she didn't seem to want to know the real truth so Joey just let her go on. He ate his food while he waited for her to stop. "Well anyway, now that that all out in the open I want to get down to why I really wanted to talk to you."

"You mean it's not because of your crush on Yugi?" She blushed and looked down.

"Was it that obvious?"

"No, I was actually just guessing."

"Oh. Well, then no, I don't know what you're talking about, and what I really wanted is your help." Joey looked at her confused. "It's about my acting. I've found the one thing that I can't do and it's driving me crazy. I was wondering if maybe you could like coach me or something."

"On acting? But I..."

"You're really great and I don't know how you do everything so perfectly. Share your secret with me. I can come over after school or something and no one else has to know or anything."

"Well I don't..."

"Please, I don't like asking people to do things for me but I need this."

"Being perfect isn't everything you know," Joey commented.

"I can't believe you just said that." She crossed her arms as if annoyed. Joey shrugged.

"Well I don't know how much help I'd be but there's nothing better to do and you did ask nicely so...why not?!" She jumped up excitedly and hugged him.

"Great! I'll walk home with you after school. This is going to be so much fun," she giggled and let him go. She started to eat her food, conveniently ignoring the blush on Joey's face. "I knew you weren't such a bad guy. My friends don't know what they're talking about." Joey chose not to question that further for fear that she'd go into another rambling session. The sound of her voice was actually starting to annoy him and he wondered if agreeing to ' tutor' her was such a great idea.

---------------------

"Nay, false Arcita, it shall not be so. I loved her first, and told you all my woe. As to a brother and to one that swore to further me, for which you are in duty bound, as knight, to help me. If the thing lie in your capacity, or else you're false and untrustworthy." Kaiba looked at Joey as Joey said the last word, knowing full well what Joey was trying to do.

"You shall," he said, "be rather false than I, for I loved her first. For how... You know not, even now, whether she is a woman or goddess! Yours is a worship as of holiness, while mine is love, as of a mortal maid; wherefore I told you of it unafraid. And if be she maid, or widow, or a wife, it is not likely that you'll meet in life. For as you are well aware, that we are doomed to die in this prison drear."

"I see her beauty and her grace, and believe that fate hath brought her to this place. That I may now know to believe, that there is one day that I will leave. And when that blessed day is to come, she'll be mine to start a home. For as the sun so shines above, nothing will ever keep me from my love."

"Love if you like; for I love too and shall, and certainly, dear cousin, that is all. Here in this prison cell must we remain and each endure whatever fate ordain," Kaiba finished and turned his back to Joey causing Joey to look down.

"Great was..."

"What the hell is fate good for anyway?" Joey interrupted the narrator. Everyone except Kaiba looked at him. "I mean, if everything's up to fate then why do anything at all? If something's meant to happen, it'll happen, so why..."

"That only matters if you believe in fate," Kaiba responded without turning around. " People are unintelligent to believe that there's something out there controlling everything. Fate; God; it's all nonsense, just another pointless hope for people to share instead of seeing reality. If there really was such a being out there, what makes people think it'd want to bother with them?"

"Guys, can we..."

"So I suppose it's stupid to believe in other people too. Do you even know what you believe?" Joey interrupted.

"That's none of your business."

"But I'm curious. If God doesn't exist then what does? Why are we here?"

"Why would we be here if God did exist? And I never said that he didn't, that was you," Kaiba finally turned to face him. "But if things were just 'meant to happen' then why would it look like something was supposed to and then didn't?"

"I should be asking you that," Joey responded.

"People please. This isn't philosophy class. Sign up for it next year if you still want to have this discussion because you'll still be here when we all fail because of it. Can we just get on with this?" Joey turned to face the boy.

"You are beginning to get a little annoying," Joey said clenching one fist and making a symbol to represent how little with the other.

"Only a little?" Tristan commented.

"You're one to talk," the boy replied sarcastically.

"Back off," Kaiba spoke up, making everyone stop to look at him.

"Seto..." Joey whispered. He opened his mouth to say something further but the bell rang. Kaiba met him eyes briefly before turning to go.

"So are we ready to go?" Ally asked approaching him. Joey watched Kaiba a minute longer and then looked at Ally and nodded.

"Yeah." He helped her off the stage and they met up with Tristan, Tea, and Yugi at the door.


	39. No luck for Resolution

"What do you guys do after school? Do you watch a lot of movies? I like watch horror movies even though I don't watch movies a lot. Have you ever seen Poltergeist? Did you know that after the movies were filmed that an unusually large amount of deaths occurred to the cast of the movie? They think that the nature of the movie may have angered beings in the spiritual world and now they're trying to get their revenge. Do you guys believe in the spirit world? I used to but now I just think..."

Joey sighed and looked up at the sky as if asking God how he'd ended up there. He regretted agreeing to help her more and more with every word that continued to flow consistently out of her mouth. It was like she didn't even stop to breathe. She just kept going and going and going.

"...Did you ever hear of a thing called..."

A hand on his arm made Joey look over at Yugi.

"You don't really have to do this you know," Yugi leaned in and said. Joey nodded and shrugged.

"She can't talk forever right?" he replied.

After dropping everyone else off at the game shop Joey followed Ally to her house.

"We have the whole living room to practice, practice, practice. I'm so excited you have no idea," she grinned giddily and let him in.

"I actually think I do," Joey muttered to himself.

"Okay, I'll go tell my mother we're here and I'll be right back."

"Don't rush or anything..." Joey looked around the house. It was a fairly decent sized home. Three stories, large hallways, open rooms...not what you'd expect to see only two blocks away from Joey's neighborhood but from the structure Joey guessed it wasn't always like that. His gaze fell upon a group of family photos hanging in a row down the front hall. Pictures of Ally winning awards and her parents holding her as a baby, normal family photos. The first one in the series was her parent's wedding picture. Joey wondered what it felt like to be that in love...to know without a doubt that there was only one person that you wanted to share your love with for the rest of your life. In Joey's mind he was telling himself that he would never want to feel that strongly for one person but somewhere in his heart he knew that that wasn't true.

"I'm back!" Ally came skipping up happily.

"Have you ever thought about things that you don't do and would never want to do but still wanna know what it would be like if you did them anyway, even though you'd never actually do them?" Joey asked deep in thought. Ally waited a minute unsure of how to answer or maybe trying to understand the question.

"What?" she finally said after finding no other way to respond. Joey looked away from the wall to face her, with a look as if he just realized that she were there.

"Nothing. Let's just get this over with." She smiled and nodded, then started rambling on about the position of the furniture in the room as she led him into it. ' I wonder if everyone else found something fun to do without me,' Joey thought, tuning most of it out.

**At Yugi's House**

"So..." Yugi said uncomfortably. He was thinking about Joey and wondering if he were going to be all right. He looked at Tristan and could almost tell that he was thinking about the same thing but when he looked at Tea everything else seemed to change into worrying about whether or not she was really all right as well.

"So..." Tristan repeated his word and the silence only seemed to grow quieter.

"Well I've got to..." Tea and Tristan both jumped up at the same time. They looked at each other uneasily.

"Yeah," Tea nodded. "Bye Yugi." She waved and headed for the door. Tristan seemed to be battling whether or not he still wanted to go but when he looked at Yugi again the unsettling atmosphere seemed to be too much.

"See you tomorrow," Tristan said. They both left. Yugi sighed and sat back on the couch. Yami came out of the bedroom carrying a funny shaped piece of glass with a confused look on his face.

"What is this?" he asked causing Yugi to look over. Yugi's eyes widened.

"Hey, don't touch that!" he jumped up and rushed over but tripped and fell, knocking Yami over, the impact with the floor causing the object to go flying. They both closed their eyes and Yami winced waiting for the sound of shattering glass...but it never came. He felt Yugi pull away and opened his eyes again.

"I thought this was a place of business, not a playground."

"Kaiba," Yami scowled. He picked himself up. "What do you want?" he said bitterly.

"Hey Kaiba, we didn't hear you knock," Yugi smiled nervously and grabbed the glass object from Kaiba's hand.

"I didn't," Kaiba replied glaring at Yami. Yugi took the object into his room and then returned a few seconds later. He looked from Yami to Kaiba, trying to decide what to ask first.

"So what can I do for you?" he asked. Kaiba looked away from Yami to look at Yugi.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about Joey."

"Well he..." Yugi started but Yami interrupted.

"He was born in the year..." Kaiba held up a hand to silence him.

"You know what I meant," he said. Yami smirked feeling as if he'd won something, and said something to Yugi through their link, then walked back into the bedroom. Yugi took a deep breath and looked down.

"I don't think this is really my place," he said timidly. Kaiba's glare seemed to get threatening.

"I didn't ask you for a speech on how wrong I am for asking, I just asked you to give me information."

"Well you can't just come in here and order people around. This isn't even your house," Yugi raised his voice suddenly angry. In the other room Yami looked toward the doorway surprised.

"Would it help it I said please?"

"No. I want you to leave. You made it clear that you don't want anything to do with Joey and so we don't want anything to do with you. I won't let you carry on like you care if you're just trying to hurt him anyway. I don't know what kind of sick pleasure you get out of seeing people get hurt but..."

"Yugi," Yami scolded from the doorway. "Calm down." Yugi's anger subsided leaving him with a feeling of embarrassment and guilt.

"But he just..." Yugi started trembling, the weight of everything finally just seeming to weigh down on him. All the silent conversation of things that everyone needed to talk about but just wouldn't. It appeared that he needed the closure that Kaiba seemed to be seeking himself. Feeling tears welling up, Yugi walked over to Yami and let the spirit comfort him. Yami looked at Kaiba.

"Sorry Kaiba, but we can't help you," he said. Kaiba scowled and shook his head.

"Always hiding behind your friends. Just wait 'til the day they aren't there to protect you anymore," he said heading for the door. Yugi looked up at Yami.

"That will never happen," Yami said and Yugi hugged him tighter.


	40. Troubled minds

_' I thought I'd never get away,'_ Joey thought to himself as he started his walk home. It was already dark out and a wind had picked up, making him shiver. He hadn't been able to aide Ally at all in her objective but he thought he'd managed to hear her whole life story from the first time she'd seen the light of day to bringing home her last perfect report card. She'd tried to teach him the importance of wanting to be the best at everything but he'd gotten tired of listening after the first word. Now he felt like he just wanted to fail at everything on purpose, just so he'd never have the slightest chance of ending up like her. He shook his head to erase all the memories of that day from his mind and sped up to get farther away from her faster. Just the sound of her name was enough to send chills down his spine.

He shivered again uncontrollably.

"Seto used to give me chills," Joey mumbled somberly. He remembered the anger and resentment that the cold-hearted teen had invoked in him so many times. How he'd shudder inside when anyone mentioned his name...Kaiba... Those chills had been different. Unlike Seto, he hadn't started out hating Ally. He couldn't even be as harsh to say that he hated her now. Ally wasn't a bad person, she just...didn't know when to shut up. He'd given her a chance and he didn't like where that had taken him. With Seto...he was still trying to figure out if giving him a chance was even worth it. He wasn't in love with Seto, no, that would be ridiculous. So why couldn't he just forget him and move on? Seto apparently had. Why was it so hard for Joey?

* * *

_' So what if he's been at Ally's house all afternoon, I don't care what the stupid mutt does with his time. He couldn't even tie his own shoes correctly without help so he's just a hindrance anyway. I don't care if he can...'_

"Seto?" Kaiba looked up, coming to the realization that he'd miscalculated the entrance to his room and wandered into his brother's. Mokuba stood up from playing a game on the floor and looked at him expectantly.

"I..." Kaiba found himself at a loss of words.

"Did I forget to clean up the living room again? I know you told me not to..."

"No. It's not that. I didn't mean to..." he cut himself off and shook his head, turning around. "I'll see you in the morning."

"I didn't mean to sound like you had to," Mokuba said making him stop. He faced his little brother again.

"What?" he asked confused.

"When I asked you if you loved him. I didn't want it to sound like an obligation. The way you were talking it just seemed... You don't have to to see him." Seto avoided eye contact and turned back to the doorway.

"Good-night, Mokuba." He went to his room. _' It was never a question of whether or not it was an obligation to continue the relationship. It just made me realize how much the whole thing was really just going to ruin what I've gotten started for myself and for Mokuba... It was just too much trouble. I was hurting Mokuba and I was hurting myself by taking time that should be spent keeping my company running properly with something that wasn't even that important to begin with. I don't even know why I'm still wasting my_ _time thinking about it. And I sure as hell don't know why I went to talk to his stupid friends. He doesn't matter and I have to forget about him... So why does that seem so __hard?'_

* * *

"Are you ever going to tell me what that is?" Yami asked, watching Yugi pass the funny shaped piece of glass between his hands boredly. Yugi looked over from the desk as Yami sat up on the bed.

"I thought you were sleeping?" Yugi smiled. Yami shrugged.

"So, what is it?" Yugi spun the chair around and leaned over.

"Well... You have to hold it up to the light and if you..." Yugi held it up in front of the window and tilted it to its side as Yami inched a little closer himself. "...find...the right...spot..." he started to move it to his left in searching. "...it can tell you your whole future and everything you ever wanted to know...and I think..." he closed one eye as if in concentration and moved it up a little further. He looked sideways at Yami, who had become so captivated that he'd moved to a spot close behind Yugi, now only inches from Yugi's face, just waiting for something to happen. Yugi smirked and brought it down again. "Only kidding." Yami scowled and walked away, crossing his arms. Yugi laughed and shook his head and Yami just went back over to the bed. "It's a wish stone," Yugi continued, looking at the gem. "It's blessed by the moon to bring truth and help guide you in certain areas of your life. This one is for love." He stood up and walked over to sit next to Yami. "I bought it for Joey to cheer him up but I haven't had the chance to give it to him...and I feel kinda weird about it anyway."

"Why's that?"

"I don't know. I guess because it would be like I'm prying into his business." Yami pulled him into his lap.

"I think it's a nice gesture. A way of letting him know he still has a friend if he needs someone to talk to...if he ever decides that he wants to."

"But he should already know that. If he wanted to talk about it he would. I just feel so disconnected from him...like I'm losing my best friend, but I don't know what to." Yugi leaned against Yami's chest and let him hold him.

"Just be patient. He just needs some space to sort things out. A lot has happened and he needs some time to comprehend it all. I actually think giving him that stone would help him...if it's as powerful as you say it is." Yugi pulled back and met his eyes, then smiled.

"I need to finish my homework before it gets too late," he said, crawling out of Yami's grasp. He went back over to the desk, looked back at Yami and nodded. "Thanks," he said, and sat back down to work.


	41. Inner turmoil

Mokuba looked at the game set up on the floor and then at the empty doorway. Knowing that Seto was probably already busy at work again he slipped on his shoes and walked into the hallway quietly. He tiptoed up to his brother's door and cracked it a little to look in, surprised at not finding him at his desk. He pushed the door open all the way and looked around.

"Seto?" he said worriedly. Then he heard a crash and his eyes shot to the direction it was in.

"Get the hell off my property. And this time don't come back," he heard Seto say. Shortly after he saw Maxwell scrambling out the front door. He winced and rushed back to his room as he heard Seto making his way back toward the stairs. He quickly shut his light out and crawled into bed, not even bothering to take his shoes off again. _' Poor Maxwell, I wonder what he did? I wonder if he did anything would be a better question...'_ Listening to Seto's feet on the stairs and then in the hallway, he tensed and snapped his eyes shut to fake sleeping, but halfway to his room they stopped and turned around, going back down. Mokuba opened his eyes and slid his feet to the floor, leaning forward as if he could see his brother through the walls. _' Now what's he doing?'_ He waited a few minutes. A door opened downstairs and shortly the house seemed to go completely quiet. Mokuba took a deep breath.

"Okay... It's now or never," he said to himself. He inched his way back out into the hallway and down the stairs, watching carefully for any sign of his older brother. From the bottom of the stairs he could see into most of the main rooms but Seto was clearly not in any of them. He stepped into the hallway cautiously. Somewhere in the living room a clock chimed announcing twelve o'clock and Mokuba jumped and tried to run back up the stairs but tripped and fell into them instead. He panted heavily, the shock starting to wear down, and pulled himself upright, checking all the rooms again anxiously. As the clock continued to count the hours he bolted down the hall and slipped out the front door, sending out one more quick survey and closing it behind him as quietly as he could. Once outside, he started to run away from the house as fast as he could.

* * *

Seto thought he heard the front door open behind the sound of the clock and looked up.

"I thought I told you not to come back!" he yelled angrily as he walked to the doorway. But the hallway was empty, the front door securely shut. He looked around at the other rooms but they were all just as empty. The clock finally stopped and after a few minutes of complete silence he shrugged and went back into the room. _' I'm probably just making it up,'_ he convinced himself, not wanting to waste his time thinking about it. He sighed and looked at the glass coffin at the center of the room. He'd promised himself that he'd get rid of it the moment that the play had ended but things happen and others things don't get done. He walked over to it and leaned on the edge, looking down at the inside of it. His eyes slipped shut.

_"I love you more then anything in the world. You are my most cherished one,"_ Kaiba's line from Snow White seeped into his mind. Those few seconds of time, the anticipation of not knowing what to expect in return, feeling so vulnerable without having any explanation at all, had been the most terrifying few seconds of his entire life. And he'd run away, giving in to the fear. And now...

"What about now?" Kaiba said suddenly. He opened his eyes and moved away from the coffin. _' I'm not running away because there isn't anything to run away from.'_ He went out into the hallway and grabbed a sword from the side wall, where it was on display. "I'm putting an end to this right now."


	42. Mysterious Visitors

Raine: Why is it that every time someone mentions something sharp that everyone automatically assumes it's suicide? Although if anyone would do that it would probably be Kaiba...hmmmm... Oh well. Thanks for sticking with me!

* * *

Yugi stirred noticing that Yami was no longer there. His eyes opened and he sat upright alarmed.

"Yami?" he looked around the room frantically but calmed when he realized he could still feel their connection. ' Yami? What's going on?' he asked through their link.

' Don't worry yourself. Go back to sleep,' Yami returned. Yugi climbed out of bed and crossed the room.

' Where are you?' he asked peaking around the corner.

' You have to get up early tomorrow. You need your sleep.' Yugi looked at his watch, which read 12:26 am.

' It IS early tomorrow and I won't get much sleep without knowing what you're doing.' Yugi walked to the edge of the stairs, that's where he saw Yami, with his ear to the door separating the house from the game shop. Yugi ran down the stairs quickly. "Is someone in there?" he whispered worried. Yami jumped back at the sound of his voice.

"I thought I told you not to worry about it," he reprimanded.

"It's my house too. If something's going on I think I should know about it."

"I didn't want you to get scared."

"Scared? Why? There IS really someone in there?" Yugi's eyes widened but Yami shook his head.

"I don't think so but there is someone somewhere and I think they're looking for you. They haven't made it inside yet but they have been trying."

"Well why didn't you stop them? They could be dangerous if you wait until they get inside. Grandpa has got a lot of valuable stuff in there. You should know better then to risk anyone..." A clicking noise started up and Yami pulled him away from the door and covered his mouth but it was followed by one short tone and then dead silence. Yugi pushed his hand away. "What? You think the clock is going to try and kill me now?" Yami scowled as Yugi smiled in amusement. A loud knock sounded on the outside door and Yugi scramble behind Yami. Yami laughed.

"Well I don't think an assailant would knock," he said going to answer it. Yugi frowned but it faded quickly as he wondered who in the world would be out there this late at night. He followed Yami to the door.

"Who is it?" he called grabbing onto Yami's arm timidly. No one answered. Yami opened the door as Yugi hid behind him.

"There's no one here," Yami said.

"But you did hear the knock right?" Yugi asked.

"Yes."

"Well okay then. As long as we're clear on that." Yami looked down at him and he smiled shyly. "So, what do you think... Hey, what's that?" Yugi pointed to a letter that had been stuck to the door. Yami pulled it down.

"It's for Joey," he said reading the name on the envelope.

"Joey? Why would they leave it here? And why so late?"

"I guess we'll have to ask Joey tomorrow when he opens it." Yami took a look around outside before closing the door and locking it again.

Mokuba sighed and crawled away from the tree he was hiding under. He looked at his watch and then toward the direction of his house and sighed, realizing how tired he was. ' Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. I just hope Seto doesn't notice that I'm gone.'

Seto sat quiet within the glass coffin, the sword thrown to the side. He crossed his arms over the edge and rested his head on his arms.

"_Now, don't try anything funny while I have my eyes closed."_

"_Why would I want to?"_

"Why would I want to..." Kaiba repeated his eyes drifting shut. Visions of Joey sleeping peacefully beside him flashed into his mind. Kaiba was overcome with his own peaceful rest just letting his thoughts wander onto other things. The touch of Joey's hand in his own, the connection they shared with each kiss, his goofy smile every time he did something stupid...

_"I will be forever yours," Joey said. Kaiba turned around._

_"What are you doing here?" he asked climbing out of the coffin._

_"Do we have to waste our time talking? I know what you really want. You may deny it but you can't ignore your feelings forever." Kaiba stayed quiet as Joey approached him. "I know you miss me." Joey slipped his arms around Kaiba's neck and pulled him in for a kiss..._

A door closing and footsteps running upstairs snapped Kaiba awake and he looked around deliriously. It took him a minute but when he remembered where he was he struggled to stand up, only to fall back down again. Both of his legs felt like jelly underneath him and he waited a few minutes for them to wake up. _' What in the world is happening to me?'_


	43. I don't know

"Bakura? You're up?" Ryou questioned noticing Bakura perched up on the windowsill. Bakura didn't look over as Ryou got up.

"I was never down," he mumbled. Ryou pulled a shirt on and started to button it.

"Couldn't sleep? Is something wrong?"

"Yes." Bakura's tone made Ryou stop halfway through putting his pants on.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned. Bakura finally looked over and smirked at Ryou's condition. Ryou blushed and finished pulling his pants on. "So what is it?"

"Nothing here... It's something outside... A force... You're not going to school," he said suddenly. He hopped down from the window and sat down on the bed.

"What?" Ryou said disbelieving. He grabbed his jacket from the desk chair and put it on.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere," Bakura continued grabbing his arm. Ryou made a face of protest and met his eyes.

"Bakura, what's going on? You're scaring me. What do you know that's going on?" Bakura released him and crossed his arms.

"Nothing. I just don't want to see those stupid friends of yours. I need a break every now and then. Is that okay?" He said harshly. Ryou sat down on the floor by his shoes.

"Not if you're going to act like that it's not. You do this everyday. I told you before that you don't have to go."

"I know. And now, I'm telling you that I'm not."

"What do you want me to do, praise your performance?" Ryou said sarcastically, pulling on his first shoe.

"I already told you what I want."

"I'm not skipping school Bakura." He pulled the other one on and stood up.

"Come on, what's one day? I'm sure nobody will miss you."

"Thanks," Ryou rolled his eyes. "Bye Bakura." He waved playfully and exited the room.

"Ryou! Get back here! You didn't even give me time to get dressed!" He heard Bakura scrambling around and smiled. Then he tripped on something and crashed to the ground. Bakura rushed out to see what happened.

"I'm alright... I just...fell..." Ryou said rubbing his knee. Bakura shook his head annoyed and went back into the bedroom to finish getting ready. Ryou flipped himself over to look at what he'd tripped on. It was a box made out of metal. He picked it up and shook it, hearing something rattling inside, but when he tried to open it he found the lid to be stuck. He put it to the side and stood up, assuming it was Bakura's and that he'd get in trouble for wondering anyway. He continued on to the kitchen.

"Hey! I told you to wait!" Bakura ran out behind him. A knock came to the front door.

"Ryou! It's us!" Yugi called out happily. Bakura rolled his eyes and shrunk to the floor.

"I'm not going."

"Okay. Then clean up the house. You're the reason why I'm always in the hospital." Bakura frowned.

"It's not my fault you don't look where you're going," he grumbled then disappeared into the millennium ring.

"Whatever." Ryou opened the door for Yugi and Yami.

"You ready!" Yugi asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah. You do realize that we're just going to school?" Ryou asked unsure. He looked to Yami.

"Coffee," Yami responded. Ryou nodded.

"Understood." They started off toward school. They met up with Tea and Tristan at the corner of their street.

"Hey guys! How's everything going?!" Yugi smiled cheerfully. Yami sighed.

"Where's Joey? We have something for him?" he asked Tristan. Tristan shrugged and started to reply when a car pulled up behind them.

"Kaiba? What does he want?" Tea asked looking over the limo. The window rolled down.

"Do you guys want a ride?" Kaiba asked sounding as if he were being forced to ask. Yami eyed him suspiciously but before anyone could say anything Yugi was already at the door.

"Sure! How nice of you to ask!" He pulled Yami into the car. The rest of them hesitated but Tristan gave out a 'why not' look and they climbed in behind Yugi and Yami. The car started moving toward school.

"So, how's everyone doing?" Kaiba asked crossing his arms. Even Mokuba gave him a confused look but Yugi still didn't seem to notice that this was all that unusual.

"We're all great! We're going to school and it's such a nice day out and...I don't know what else but whatever... It's great! Why do I still feel tired? Yami, you said I wouldn't feel tired." Yami didn't know how to respond so he kept quiet.

"Is he going to be okay?" Tristan asked.

"He'll be fine," Ryou reassured them when Yami didn't answer.

"So how's everyone else?" Kaiba asked, distastefully watching Yugi snuggle up next to Yami and closing his eyes. Kaiba looked to the others.

"I'm fine."

"Yeah great."

"Just wonderful." The three of them answered in tandem. An uncomfortable silence sunk in.

' He must be using us to try and get at Joey again, but do you think his intentions are good or bad?' Yugi thought as he drifted in and out of consciousness unwillingly.

"Did anyone else find last night's history assignment to be rather interesting?" Ryou asked suddenly.

' It's hard to tell at this point,' Yami responded to Yugi's question as Kaiba began to answer Ryou.

"I think that the..."

"But Kaiba seemed to..." Yami covered Yugi's mouth as Kaiba stopped talking and everyone looked over. The touch of Yami's hand made Yugi open his eyes and when he remembered where he was and who was with him, he blushed.

"I..." he tried to think of a good explanation or finish to the earlier statement but nothing came to mind. The limo pulled up in front of the school, saving him, and everyone got out without a word. Mokuba ran into the school.

"Well thanks Kai..." Tea started, but Kaiba was already inside as well. "He still a jerk even when you think he's being nice. I don't see how Joey can like him." She rolled her eyes and started off toward the school.

"Since when did you guys start palling around with Kaiba?" Joey asked coming up to the rest of them.

"I don't know, ask Yugi," Tristan shrugged.

"Well he was just offering us a ride. It's not like we agreed to marry him or anything," Ryou added. Joey looked at him but said nothing, then just simply walked inside.

"Hey wait! I have something to give you..." Yugi sighed.

"Well we're all going to the same place anyway. It's not like he can go far," Tristan said and then started inside himself. The rest of them followed.


	44. Reconciliation

"With sword and spear ye shall fight your fill. Go now your ways and start at will." Joey readied himself for a fight at the narrator's command.

"You threaten to take my girl, you threaten your way to death," he said jokingly, knowing how much it would tick off everyone who was taking these rehearsals too seriously. Kaiba just crossed his arms.

"I won't fight you," he said. Joey lowered the plastic sword and looked at him incredulous.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah, what?" a girl repeated annoyed. Kyle, the boy who had taken charge of the whole play, stood up.

"What are you doing?" he asked just as annoyed.

"You know what I just realized?" Tristan whispered to Yugi. Yugi looked away from Joey and Kaiba to acknowledge him.

"What?"

"Kaiba hasn't said or done one mean thing all day...to anyone. I even saw him helping some kid who'd run into him pick up his books without even an aggravated look."

"Well that's not like Kaiba at all. I wonder what's going on?"

"You have to fight me. It's written in the script. Here. Right here. Do you see it?" Joey said shoving the script in Kaiba's face and pointing to a line on the page. "Fight me...and I lose. How can I lose if you forfeit?"

"I don't want to fight you," Kaiba reinforced.

"Well that's new. Especially since you win. Or maybe it's not new because you know it's just a waste of time. I know how you are about things like that. But guess what. The only thing I'm good at is wasting peoples time so humor me and let me do something that I know how to." Kaiba said something inaudible and Joey looked at him blankly.

"You're good at wasting my time and I'm tired of it. You guys can both fail if you want to but..." the boy was interrupted.

"Oh just shut up. If I hear one more stupid remark about us not doing what you want us to do then I'm gonna punch you in the face and then see if you'll wanna talk so big." Tristan grabbed Joey as he went to move closer to Kyle.

"Joey calm down. It isn't worth it," Yugi said moving next to them.

"Oh, I think it's worth it. He's been racking me since the first day we started all this and I don't want to hear it anymore."

"Look. Just because Kaiba won't fight you doesn't mean you have to find somebody to fill that spot for him," Tristan mumbled so that no one else would hear. Joey shook himself free.

"This has nothing to do with Kaiba. I hate him and he hates me so let's just get on with this fight. It shouldn't be that hard to do. I thought you enjoyed beating me, Kaiba. What's making you so scared now? It's not even a real fight and you already know you're gonna win. So let's go." Joey raised the fake sword again in challenge. Kaiba sighed and drew his own sword. But they didn't fight. Neither one would make the first move. Joey lowered the sword again. "Let's just say we did it for now. I lost okay." Joey sat down on the stage floor and put the prop to the side.

"Say the correct line," Kyle instructed. Joey glared at him.

"Go to hell," he returned. Kyle backed up a bit.

"Well I think that's enough for today. We can finish this up tomorrow." He made a beeline for the back door. A few other kids waited a minute and then followed, mumbling things to each other as they exited. Yugi went to see if Joey was okay but Tristan grabbed him and pulled him back as Kaiba approached first.

"Let's go," Tristan said pushing him away from them. Yugi looked up at him surprised but went with him toward the exit. Tea and Ryou saw what they were doing and followed. Before Kaiba could say anything, Ally walked over and seeing her approach, Kaiba walked over to his bag acting as if he were getting ready to leave.

"Come on Joey, I still have to tell you about..."

"Hey Ally! You want to go grab something to eat with us?" Tristan called to her. She looked from Joey to the guys and then back again.

"I'll meet you there," Joey said. She nodded and ran out to meet the group at the door. Once they exited Joey and Kaiba were left alone. "I won't believe anything you have to say," Joey said standing up. He turned his back to Kaiba, getting off the stage and going over to his own bag, slipping his script inside. " That letter wasn't even close to being believable. You sounded like a child."

"I never..."

"And did you really think that being nice to everyone for one day would make me think that you'd changed?"

"No. But it's what you asked for." Joey turned and looked at him confused. Kaiba smiled a little. "You told me that if I treated everyone the way that I treat my brother that you'd do anything I wanted." Joey sat down in the seat next to his bag.

"I did say that didn't I?" he laughed realizing how much trouble he could have created for himself with that statement now. It hadn't even crossed his mind that Seto would try and use it against him. " Well what do you want?" he asked not really wanting to know what kind of sick thing Seto had in mind. Kaiba sat down on the edge of the stage in front of him.

"I want you to forget everything I've said or done to you in the past." Joey met his eyes the unexpectedness of the words hitting him. Automatically he assumed that meant that Seto wanted to be forgiven but the word everything stuck out and he had to shake his head.

"That includes everything that happened last weekend. So you want me to just forget that you exist? That might be kinda hard considering..." Kaiba got down from the stage and took a few steps up the aisle.

"However you want to take that is up to you," he paused finding it hard to say what he wanted to say next. "I want..." he stopped himself, unable to finish, despite how much he knew he wanted to. The words ' what you want' just wouldn't come out. Joey came up behind him and slid his arms around his waist.

"I want you," he whispered in Seto's ear. Seto closed his eyes and told himself that he must be dreaming again because he would never let himself feel the feelings that were awakening in him now. He didn't need this to accomplish his goals. And anything he didn't absolutely need was obsolete. If that were true then why was he spending so much time trying to make one insignificant person happy, or at least that's what he thought he was doing...trying to make Joey happy. But no one does anything for anyone unless it somehow benefits them as well, and Seto certainly didn't do anything to help another person. So what exactly was he doing? He was admitting to himself that he was human. That he too had weaknesses. And that one of those weaknesses was tall, blonde, and high-strung. He laughed at the thought, which made Joey withdraw and look away embarrassed. " I guess we should forget that too," he said grabbing his bag as the bell rang. Kaiba stopped him.

"About as much as you should forget this." He pulled Joey back to him and kissed him passionately. Joey had to pull back to catch his breath.

"I don't understand you," he said. Kaiba smiled.

"Are you supposed to?" he asked. The door opened and Yugi popped his head in.

"Something happened at Ryou's house so there's been a change in plans," he called down to them.

"What is it?" Joey asked grabbing his bag again and starting toward him. Yugi watched Kaiba going to get his things before answering.

"We're not sure how it happened but...there's been an accident."


	45. Awaiting dangers

Raine: Hey sorry it's been so long. Labor Day weekend and well, I had a lot of labor to do. I worked five straight days of twelve hour shifts and my brain is only calculating tax for $8.95 and 2 for $12.00. I'm so beyond tired that I don't even feel tired anymore but hey, I'll be happy when this summer is finally over. I know most of you don't care but guess what, I don't either so hey, I'm writing it anyway. I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that, it just sorta happened that way. So without further delay...hope it doesn't reflect my tiredness.

* * *

"Don't think this let's you off the hook either, Kaiba. I'm still mad at you so we're not done," Joey pointed to Kaiba accusingly as he opened the door to go outside.

"Well actually... If you don't mind Kaiba, we could use a ride," Yugi said timidly. Kaiba picked up his laptop and walked over.

"Where to?" he asked.

"The hospital."

"What? Just how serious is this?"

**At the hospital**

Tristan walked over to Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi when they arrived. Bakura was pacing behind him.

"I had Tea take Ally home after they said he'd be fine. He's just a little shaken up," Tristan reported.

"So, what happened?" Joey asked.

"Ryou got hit by a car," Bakura said annoyed at the question. Joey looked at Kaiba.

"I never would have guessed that..." Joey trailed off.

"Do you know who?" Kaiba asked.

"No," Tristan said. "Nobody saw their face but we have an idea." He held out a piece of paper and Joey took it. Kaiba read it over his shoulder.

"Keep your friends close and watch you back always. The shadow of vengeance shall take you all."

"Well that sounds great," Joey said sarcastically. "Who gave you that?"

"It was thrown out the window when the car drove off."

"I'm going to kill the son of a..."

"Bakura!" Ryou scolded. Everyone turned and watched him limp over.

"Ryou!" they all said excitedly, except Kaiba who just nodded in acknowledgement.

"Just a few bruises, nothing to worry about," he said. He looked toward Bakura. ' I've been through worse,' he thought. Bakura scowled and took a few steps away.

"Glad to see you're alright kid," he said acting like the whole thing was just an inconvenience. Ryou smiled knowingly.

"You ready to go?" Joey asked. He looked at Kaiba for confirmation and he nodded again. "We'll give you a ride." He turned back to Ryou.

"We'll be fine thanks," Bakura eyed Kaiba distastefully.

"Speak for yourself," Ryou hobbled his way toward the exit. "I'd be happy to accept." Bakura rolled his eyes and followed.

**A few hours later**

Joey sat down on Kaiba's bed as Kaiba put his laptop down on the desk and opened it. They'd dropped Ryou off and stayed a few hours to make sure he'd be okay by himself and then left Tristan and Yugi off at Yugi's house. They'd all agreed it safer not to do anything alone, ignoring the fact that Ryou had been with all of them when he was attacked. So since Yugi's grandfather had gone out of town again, Joey and Tristan had decided to stay with him but Joey had something that he needed to finish first. He looked from the laptop to Kaiba and raised an eyebrow.

"So now you're just going to ignore me? Don't you have people that are supposed to do your work for you?" he asked.

"No. I fired them all last week." Kaiba started typing away.

"Well that doesn't sound too smart. Hire 'em back."

"I'd rather set myself on fire and walk on a porcupine in bare feet then put my company back into the hands of those morons."

"Now that sounds more like you. I needed to get that fire back into your eyes. You just aren't the same without it." Kaiba met his gaze.

"You were the one who asked me to..." Joey cut him off by waving his hand.

"I know, I know, and it was nice. But it wasn't you. Anyway, we have something that we need to talk about and I know you know where I'm going with this." Kaiba looked back at the computer screen and continued working.

"Yeah, and I honestly don't know what else needs to be said. If you're still angry then you're still angry and there's no point in trying to..."

"Fine. Then I'm going. If you want me, I'll be at Yugi's. Tell Mokuba I said thanks for trying anyway." Joey walked out. Kaiba stopped a second confused.

"Joey!" he walked to the doorway to catch him. Joey stopped right before the stairs. "Have my driver take you. I wouldn't want to get blamed if you get lost." Joey shook his head and continued on.

"No thanks, I'll take my chances. A nice walk would be good for me. It's a shame what happened to Ryou though..." Joey stopped, letting the statement sink in.

"Mokuba! I'm going out! Lock the doors behind me!" Joey smirked as Kaiba came up behind him.

"So you do care after all," he said. Kaiba sighed.

"Just hope that you don't become the reason my company goes under," he said threateningly. Joey grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek.

"You really know how to make someone feel special," he said playfully. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

**At Yugi's house**

Yugi came out of the kitchen with a tray of things to eat.

"So you said you thought you knew who it was," he looked at Tristan expectantly.

"Yeah. Someone who was aiming for you and not Ryou."

"But who would..."

"Duke Devlin."


	46. Sleepover

"I love you, Bakura," Ryou said as Bakura pulled the sheets over him. Bakura scowled and walked away.

"Stupid child, get some sleep," he said flicking the light out. He walked out of the room. Ryou sighed and closed his eyes.

"I love you anyway," he whispered.

Bakura dropped to the floor and leaned against the wall right outside of the room, listening as Ryou's heartbeat slowed and he drifted off to sleep. Why would anyone want to hurt his little Ryou? Sure there had been times in the past where he'd hurt his own hikari but after warming up to the kid and learning that he needed him...there was no way that there was someone out there that cruel.

"It's those stupid friends of yours. If you didn't hang out with them this never would have happened." He stood up from the wall and walked back into the room. Ryou looked so peaceful lying there with a half smile on his face while he dreamed. Bakura wondered what he was dreaming about that was making him smile so. He ran a hand over a bruise on the side of Ryou's face and shook his head. Then he kissed him lightly on the lips. Ryou made a sighing sound and then snuggled into Bakura's hand. Bakura gently removed it and went to the doorway. ' His friends... He's finally happy here. I can't take that away...' He turned and walked down the hallway. "But I can find whoever did this and rip him to shreds."

**At Yugi's house**

"How can you say that? I don't think that just because he doesn't like me that he'd try to kill me or hurt my friends. That just too childish for him," Yugi said sitting down on the couch next to Tristan.

"I agree. He may be unstable but he's not a murderer," Yami said, appearing in front of him, sitting on the coffee table.

"Well, I'm not convinced," Tristan responded.

"Well, what makes you so sure?" Yami asked.

"Did you see him?" Yugi's eyes widened in the anticipation of knowing the truth.

"No... I just..."

"Does he even drive?" Yugi crossed his arms, his hopes of finding out if it was really him dissipating. Tristan stopped to think about it.

"Well I can so he should..."

"Joey doesn't."

"Joey failed driver's ed. Duke's different."

"Are you sayin' that Duke's smarter then me?" Joey came into the room. "I should hit you for that." He hopped over the back of the couch, landing in between Tristan and Yugi.

"He's only stating the obvious," Kaiba said from behind them.

"I thought you were supposed to defend me," Joey said giving him a halfway annoyed look.

"It's easier to tell the truth."

"Why you..." Joey jumped back over the couch and lunged at Kaiba, who just stepped out of the way, letting him crash to the floor. Tristan laughed.

"Great job. If he'd of pinned you, you'd of never gotten away alive," he said.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked, peaking over the couch as Joey rubbed his chin and sat up.

"You see. That's what real friends do," he said indicating Yugi. Kaiba sighed and went over to help him up but Joey pushed him away and got up on his own.

"So, are you staying over tonight too, Kaiba?" Yugi asked curiously. Everyone looked to him for an answer.

"No. He'd rather spend his time alone working, then being a normal teenager without a life," Joey taunted. Kaiba scowled.

"Mokuba's home alone," he said as if that would be enough of an excuse.

"Then why don't we all just go back over there? Your security would definitely keep us safe from anyone trying to get at us," Joey said. "And you've got plenty of room."

"Having you there was bad e..." he stopped noticing the look on Joey's face. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Fine. The car is waiting outside."

"That's twice tonight," Joey rejoiced as they all got up to leave. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Don't get used to it."

**At Kaiba mansion**

"Keep your 'wows' to yourselves, I don't want to wake up Mokuba if he's sleeping," Kaiba said opening the door for them. "There's guest rooms down that hall, or if you prefer you can all sleep together out in the living room like a bunch of..."

"Watch it," Joey interrupted.

"...scared mice," Kaiba finished. "I can bring you down some blankets." He started up the stairs.

"I don't think that's necessary," Yami said.

"Yeah, we're not girls," Tristan added.

"I'll be in my room," Kaiba kept walking. The four of them looked at each other.

"The living room's that way?" Joey pointed unsure.

Once they were all settled in and joking around with each other again Joey stood up and grabbed a pillow from the couch.

"You guys try to get some sleep, I'll be right back," he said. He exited the room and went up the stairs to Kaiba's. He heard him clicking and typing away and smirked. He went into the room.

"What is it? Forget where the bathroom is?" Kaiba asked.

"I don't think I ever really knew..." Joey thought about it. Kaiba turned around. He looked from the pillow to Joey.

"A pillow? Honestly? And you're not too good at sneaking." Joey raised eye eyebrow alluringly.

"I wasn't trying to be sneaky." He pulled a knife from his pocket. "Come downstairs with us or the pillow gets it." He held the knife up to the pillow threateningly.

"That's even more pathetic then my idea," Kaiba sighed. "Such a shame." He turned back to the computer and Joey put his knife away. He tossed the pillow onto Kaiba's bed and walked over to him.

"So, how complicated is this stuff anyway?" he asked. Kaiba looked at him sideways.

"Too complicated for you." Joey glared at him.

"I'm smarter then I look."

"No. You look..." Joey put a finger to Kaiba's lips.

"You should stop before you make me mad again." Kaiba half smiled and looked up at him. He started to get up but Joey turned and walked away. "I guess I'll see you in the morning," he said grabbing the pillow and leaving the room. ' Now he's toying with me? Does he really think it'll work? I have things more important then entertaining his friends,' Kaiba thought looking back at the screen. He stared at it a few minutes and then looked toward the doorway, but just as fast as he had turned his head Joey tackled him from behind and wrestled him to the floor, straddling him and holding his arms down. Completely taken by surprise, Kaiba closed his eyes expecting to get hit. He felt Joey release his arms and opened them again. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen you afraid. What did you think I was going to do?" Joey said crossing his arms and smiling. Kaiba pushed Joey off him and shook his head angrily.

"I don't know." Joey crawled back over to him and rested his head on Kaiba's shoulder.

"Come on. Do you really think I'd hurt you?" Kaiba looked at him sideways again as Joey's arms wrapped around his chest.

"I don't think you could hurt a cardboard box," he said.

"Is that a challenge?" Joey said. He started to nibble on Kaiba's ear. Kaiba winced and the turned his head.

"Is that an acceptance?" Joey smiled slyly.

"No. I've got to get back to my friends." He stood up but Kaiba grabbed him.

"Not this time," he said and pulled him back down.

Mokuba turned away and went back to his room, knowing that his brother wasn't hurt. The noise they'd made tumbling to the floor had scared him into thinking something was wrong but now he saw that everything was fine. Everything was better then fine. His brother was happy again and things seemed to be going well with them. Mokuba looked toward his brother's bedroom before going back into his own. ' A little too well,' he thought as he heard the door close.


	47. Playing games

Raine: Hey I know this isn't very good and I won't make excuses but do know that I am really trying and hope that it will get better. A lot of your were surprised that I got this far, well so am I. So if it gets bad, just pretend in ended like awhile ago.

* * *

"You're going down this time Motou," Tristan said as he started the last lap. Yugi just laughed. They'd found a Playstation and a few games lying around and decided to play while they waited for Joey to return. Tristan and Yugi were seated on the floor in front of the coffee table, right up close to the television and Yami sat watching from the couch behind them. Yugi had already won three games to Tristan and lost two to Yami, who Tristan refused to play.

"Hey that wasn't fair," Tristan protested as his car was slammed into a wall.

"What are you doing?" an annoyed voice came from behind them all. Tristan's controller disappeared underneath him and he flicked the TV off swiftly. Yugi put his down gently and turned around, expecting Kaiba or a servant to be there.

"Mokuba?" he and Tristan said together. "We didn't wake you did we?" Yugi continued.

"I came down to get a drink. What are you guys doing here?" Yugi moved over to the couch with Yami as Mokuba crossed the room to where they were. He sat down in a reclining chair to Tristan's left.

"We came over with Joey but..." Tristan trailed off. He leaned on the coffee table.

"Oh..." Mokuba looked down. He seemed to sink into his own thoughts.

"Do you want to play a game with us?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah, I was just about to leave Yugi in the dust but that can always wait," Tristan added.

"Wishful thinking," Yugi shook his head.

"You should thank Mokuba. He saved you from having to admit you can lose at something."

"I have no problem admitting to losing...if that's what I did. You were the one that got lucky. I was almost a whole lap ahead of you and you know it."

"Whatever," Tristan waved away the remark. Yugi reached over and grabbed the remote, flicking the TV back on. In huge red letters the words 'You Won!' flashed on Yugi's side of the screen. Mokuba laughed as Tristan scowled. Yugi snuggled up to Yami satisfied and Yami wrapped an arm around him.

"You have all the luck," Tristan said bitterly.

"I'll let you win next time," Yugi responded.

"So, how 'bout it Mokuba? But be aware I won't go easy on you."

"Don't try to make yourself feel better by implying that you were letting Yugi win, you'll never get anywhere if you lie to yourself all the time," Yami said. Tristan started to respond but Mokuba interrupted.

"I'll play," Mokuba said. "But don't get all angry when you're eight laps behind me and I'm crossing the finish line." He crawled over to the controller Yugi had been using and picked it up.

"Another big talker," Tristan said boredly. "Let's see what you got to back it up." He uncovered his own controller and restarted the game. "Prepare to meet your fate...watching me disappear off your screen," Tristan challenged.

"Yeah, at the end of my tailpipe," Mokuba countered. The race started Tristan getting a head start.

"Come on, you can get him Mokuba," Yugi moved away from Yami and closer to the TV as Mokuba dodged the other cars to catch up. Yami laughed at his enthusiasm, which made him look back shyly. "What?"

"Nothing," Yami said. Yugi curled back up close to him.

"Do you think Joey's alright?" he asked letting his worry show.

"I'm sure he's fine." Mokuba cheered as his car crossed the finish line three seconds before Tristan's.

**In another room, well ok...it's Kaiba's**

Kaiba and Joey laid their cards down on the bed at the same time. Kaiba, of course, had the better hand.

"I think you cheated," Joey said angrily. "Let me see your clothes."

"I think you're the one who will be taking off your clothes," Kaiba smirked. After deciding that Kaiba didn't deserve to just have everything he wanted at his command, Joey had challenged him to a game of strip poker, one of which he was obviously losing. While Joey was down to his underwear, Kaiba was still fully clothed and finding each win that much more amusing. Joey had been lucky that he was wearing his school uniform, which had more layers to wager, but now that wasn't even there to protect him. "Do you want some help?" Kaiba asked slyly. Joey narrowed his eyes.

"No, but I'll help you wipe that stupid look off your face," Joey sprang toward him and he just smiled and got off the bed as Joey landed face first into it, sending all the cards to scatter everywhere. Joey turned himself over but before he could sit up Kaiba was hovering over him.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to disrespect your master? Your mine now. I won you fair and square." He leaned closer to kiss him but a noise downstairs brought his attention away. He climbed off of Joey and walked over to the door. "Don't go anywhere," he ordered and walked out of the room. He went downstairs. The noise of laughter and something hitting the ground came from the living room.

"Now what are you going to do you little runt? I'll teach you to mess with me," he heard Tristan's voice. He went to the doorway and looked in to find Mokuba pinned to the floor with Tristan on top of him, apparently tickling him, with Yugi trying to grab Tristan's arm.

"What are you doing to my brother?" Kaiba crossed his arms. Everyone stopped and Mokuba rushed to hide behind Tristan.

"What did you do to Joey?" Tristan asked back. A thud sounded behind Kaiba.

"I'm fine," Joey said. He was trying to pull his clothes back on as fast as he could while going to see what was happening, without his friends seeing him. He stayed in the hallway out of sight as Kaiba continued to glare at Tristan.

"Seto we were just playing a game," Mokuba said moving into Seto's view.

"It's a school night. I want you in bed. Now." Mokuba rolled his eyes but stood up and darted past him to the stairs. He gave Joey an, 'I don't even want to ask' look as he approached the blonde and continued on to his room. "And I don't want to hear any more out of you guys either."

"I know you're just playing dad right now so I'll let that go," Tristan responded, which seemed to make Kaiba's glare deepen in anger.

"Come on Seto, give 'em a break. It's only nine," Joey said, finally composed. Yugi stood up as Joey appeared behind Kaiba. Kaiba's glare shifted to Joey and the room went completely quiet. Impossible as it was, it seemed as if they were speaking to each other even though no words were spoken. Kaiba let out and angry sigh and walked away. "So guys, what's up?" Joey asked sheepishly turning to his friends.

"Your pants are on backwards," Tristan commented as he turned back to the TV. Yugi blushed for him as he raced to find the bathroom.

"Do you think..." Yugi started.

"No," Yami and Tristan replied in unison. Yugi's blush just darkened.


	48. A new evil

Joey looked himself over in the bathroom mirror.

"I can't believe I just did that. How stupid can one person be?" He turned the water on and washed his face. His hand reached out to find a towel but one was handed to him. He dried his face and looked up at Kaiba.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you to knock?" Joey said annoyed, turning the water off.

"No," Kaiba said boredly. Joey put the towel down on the side on the sink. "For someone who I told not to go anywhere, my room seems to have gotten a lot smaller. Don't you think?" Kaiba looked around the room then back at Joey.

"Nah, it's only a little smaller," Joey shrugged. He was starting to get nervous and he didn't know why. He guessed it had something to do with the look in Kaiba's eyes. Somehow it was just unsettling.

"Are you afraid of me?" Kaiba asked sensing the discomfort. Joey shook his head vigorously, which only made the assumption seem that much more true. Kaiba took a few steps toward him. "Good...because you should be." Joey backed up into a crevice between the sink and the bathtub as Kaiba moved in closer, only stopping when he hit the wall. "Nobody go against my wishes without at least some kind of punishment." Kaiba slid up close to him and ran his hands under Joey's shirt. "Lucky for you there's only one thing I want out of you tonight." Joey closed his eyes as Kaiba started to kiss him.

"Do you think Joey's coming back?" Yugi asked getting bored with the TV show that Tristan had turned on. All three of them were seated on the couch, Tristan half leaning over the side and Yugi curled up against the other side, his legs folded underneath him. Yami sat in the middle with his arms crossed. Tristan sat up and stretched.

"I don't know but I'm hungry," he said.

"Me too... Let's go find something," Yugi stood up. Yami looked at him alarmed.

"Yugi, this isn't our house," he said.

"It'll be fine. Kaiba probably won't miss anything," Tristan said joining Yugi. Yami stood up and followed.

"I wonder what kind of food he eats? I never see him eating at school," Yugi commented as the hallway.

"Do we even know where the kitchen is to find out?" Tristan asked. Yugi looked at him and smiled.

"I guess not. Maybe we should just go to the all night convenient store down the street." Tristan shrugged.

"Beats trying to find our way around here." They went for the door but Yugi stopped when he noticed that Yami wasn't following.

"What?" he asked. "It's not that far and you already said that we shouldn't take Kaiba's food. And it's not like we're going alone." Yami looked at him the way a father would look at a twelve year old son who was asking if they could drive the car. "And you'll be there to be my hero if someone's come to grab us," Yugi smiled the cutest smile he could come up with. Yami sighed.

"I can't really stop you," he said before disappearing into the millennium puzzle. Yugi maintained his smile while they walked outside but he couldn't help but feel guilty as they exited the grounds.

' Are you mad at me?' he asked Yami through their link.

' No. But you should have at least told them you were going." Yugi looked back toward the house but kept walking.

"Don't worry, they probably won't even notice we're gone," Tristan said noticing his concern.

"I don't know whether that seems good or bad?" Yugi said too quiet to be heard. Neither Yami nor Tristan responded. "So, have you heard from Serenity? How's she doing?" Yugi asked trying to think of something nice to talk about.

"Well she..." Yami reappeared and pulled both of them into the entranceway to an apartment building nearby. "Hey what gives?" Tristan pulled away angrily. Yami quieted him with a glare.

"What is it Yami?" Yugi asked watching the spirit inch his way to the edge of the alcove cautiously. He pulled back suddenly as a crash sounded in the alleyway around the corner.

"Can't you put up a good fight anymore? Or have you grown weak in the past few months? Oh...that's right. You were always weak," A cold voice said unpleasantly. Clinks of cans being moved followed and a growl responded.

"I thought I'd never have to see your ugly face again. Get bored with torturing your own people?"

"I had some unfinished business."

"Well too bad you won't get to finish it. I'm going to kill you you bastard.

"Now is that any way to talk to an old friend. I think they forgot to teach you manners when they converted you to being so soft." There was another crash and Yugi winced and drew back a bit. ' Why does it feel like I know them?' he thought to himself.

"Well I can't just sit here while someone gets hurt," Tristan said walking back out into the street.

"Tristan no!" Yami ran out to stop him. The two people in the alley looked toward them.

"Well, well. Look who decided to save the day," the tormentor replied abandoning his prey for the moment. "Too bad you'll be receiving the same fate." Yugi continued to try and place both voices as Yami pushed Tristan out of the way.

"Wait, is that..."

"Bakura!" Ryou jolted awake, pain responding to the sudden movement. He could feel Bakura slipping away and looked around the room wildly. He attempted to throw the sheets off himself and stand but got tangled and fell to the floor. More pains shot through his body from his injuries but he ignored them and forced himself to stand. He limped through the house swiftly in search of the missing spirit. "Bakura?" he called weakly. ' Where are you?' he asked through their link.

' Don't worry about it kid. Go back to sleep before you hurt yourself," was the rough reply. Then the link was cut off.

"Bakura," Ryou whispered one last time before the pain took over and he fainted.


	49. Back with a vengence

Raine: I know, it's incredibly short but I didn't have much time and I wanted to post something so I didn't leave you guys hanging so this is what I got. I'll try to get you something more my Friday but things have been really hectic around here so thanks for your patience.

Bakura managed to pick himself up again and moved toward his attacker slowly.

"I'm afraid there will be no savior this time pharaoh. Don't worry, I'll kill this one fast." Bakura grabbed his arms as he went after Tristan.

"You leave them alone," Bakura said.

"That's a pretty weak threat coming from someone who can't even defend his own hikari. And why the sudden need to defend them anyway? You really have gone soft Bakura. Shame, you had so much potential." He threw Bakura crashing to the ground again without even blinking.

"What do you want Marik?" Yami demanded. Marik crossed his arms.

"Come now, isn't it clear? I want...every last one of you dead." He held up the millennium rod and an energy blast sent Yami and Tristan flying.

"Yami!" Yugi ran out to them.

"Ah, there's the little brat. I'll enjoy watching your face as I rip him into little pieces. I might even be generous and let you have one to remember him by." Marik grabbed Yugi and pulled him away from Yami just as Bakura jumped him from behind again, this time sending them crashing to the ground. Yami grabbed Yugi and pulled him away from the pile over to where Tristan was.

"You mess with my hikari and you don't live to see another day. Ra help me you'll pay for what you did to him," Bakura said angrily. Marik pushed Bakura off of him easily and picked himself up.

"You talk as if I killed the boy but we all know that isn't true, now don't we. But hey, don't worry too much. My mind slaves are on their way now to go remedy that."

"Ryou..." Bakura whispered. He could feel how weak Ryou was through the link but had no way of knowing what condition the poor boy was in. He stood up and looked at Marik coldly, his resentment rising well above angry. A smirk spread across his face, which seemed to confuse and amuse Marik at the same time. "I guess you forgot who you were dealing with. Let me refresh your memories for you." Bakura nodded and Marik turned, one second too late. Yami had him on the ground with Bakura right at his side. Bakura ripped the millennium rod from Marik's grasp and threw it to the side. Marik growled.

"No matter. I can fight you without it." He went to punch Yami in the face to get him off of him but Bakura was on him in an instant.

"Who's the helpless one now?" Bakura cooed putting his face right up close to Marik's. "I'll make you regret the first moment you even looked at Ryou the wrong way."


	50. Missing link

"Seto?" Joey asked sheepishly. He was helplessly pinned beneath the brunette who was half sleeping, lying across Joey's chest.

"Hmm?" Kaiba responded, not moving or opening his eyes.

"You do realize that we're still in the bathroom right?" Kaiba groaned unpleasantly and sat up. Still halfway leaning on Joey he met the blonde's eyes.

"Why do you always have to ruin everything?" Joey half smiled and tried to shrug.

"It's not always me..." Kaiba raised an eyebrow and waited for him to imply that he had once too. Joey smiled, knowing that Kaiba knew that the implication wasn't in vain, and left the sentence unfinished. Kaiba rolled his eyes and slid away from him. Keeping his back to him, he started to collect his clothes. "Awe, come on. I was only suggesting that..."

"We go somewhere else. Yeah. I got that," Kaiba interrupted annoyed. Joey pulled himself up as well and grabbed his shirt from where it was draped over the bathtub.

"At least I didn't bring up my friends." Kaiba made a ' well I can see how true _that_ is' face and shook his head. "Hey. Why don't we go find something to eat? I'm sure the guys are hungry and I already feel bad that I've been ignoring them." Kaiba stood up and pulled half of his clothes on.

"You can do whatever you want. I have some work I need to finish." Joey pulled his shirt on and started to button it.

"So that's it? Use me and lose me? Do you even really want a relationship or did you just need to get that out of your system?" Kaiba looked down at him and smirked.

"Tell me what you think," he said. Joey scowled but it quickly turned into a smile as he grabbed Kaiba's arms and pulled him down on top of him.

"I'll tell you what I don't think," he said flirtatiously. "I don't think that you can walk away as easily as you think you can." He pulled Kaiba into a kiss and Kaiba closed his eyes, sinking into it, but a knock at the door made him scramble away as if he'd just been caught doing something he didn't want other people to see. Joey laughed as he blushed.

"What?" Kaiba barked out angrily as Joey put the rest of his clothes on.

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you but Yugi and Tristan are gone," Mokuba's voice called through the door. Joey exchanged looks with Kaiba. Kaiba opened the door.

"Did they say where they were going?" Joey asked from behind him. Mokuba looked from his brother to Joey.

"No. But they've been gone for awhile..."

"I don't think they would have just left. Yugi's not like that, especially after what happened to Ryou. Are you sure they're not here?"

"Positive. The door even says that they left." Joey looked at Kaiba confused.

"The door has a counter for every time it's opened and closed," Kaiba replied boredly. Joey nodded, still unsure of what that meant. "Maybe you need to be more concerned about your friends then how a simple security device works." Joey glared at him.

"You're lucky that you're right right now," he said. He walked past both Kaiba brothers' toward the front door. "And I hope for their sake that they just got lost in the house instead of wandering out there with the psycho that hurt Ryou after them."

"_Bakura? Do you think it will always be like this?"_

"_What do you mean? Like what?"_

"_Like this." Ryou leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I want you to stay with me always. Promise me you'll never leave me." Bakura backed away a little to look at him better. Ryou looked down embarrassed as if he'd done something wrong. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."he trailed off. Bakura pulled him into an embrace._

"_Of course I won't leave you. I...I love you, Ryou." Ryou looked up at him with wide eyes, teardrops forming at the sides. Bakura smiled and brushed the side of his face as one of them started to fall. "Silly child. Why are you always crying?" Ryou's eyes snapped shut as he hugged the spirit tightly, snuggling his head into Bakura's chest._

_"Nobody's ever said that before," Ryou cried happily. "I love you too, Ba...kura?" His eyes opened and he found himself alone. He looked around confused. "Bakura, where'd you go? Did you really leave me?" Darkness seemed to swirl in around him and his vision blurred. "Bakura?"_

"But you promised..." Ryou mumbled incoherently. He groaned and pushed himself up. His whole body ached and his head hurt and when he opened his eyes and found himself in a room with only one light, that appeared to have no doors, he became a little wary. ' I knew that wasn't real...' he couldn't help thinking. He looked around the room confused.

"Where am I?" he asked the silence. He stretched, well tried to and recoiled when sharps pains shot through his body. He was bleeding from a spot on his leg and a new bruise had begun to form on his arm. He turned his head slowly as he heard a clicking sound behind him. "Bakura?" he asked knowing very well that it wasn't him. The clicking stopped and the room went quiet again. ' What happened to me? Where am I?' he repeated in his thoughts. Worry creased his forehead and he closed his eyes again. ' And where's Bakura?'

"Bakura, stop it. There are plenty of ways to handle this without using violence," Yami said as Bakura pulled out a knife. He looked to Yami skeptically.

"Not one will get this bastard what he deserves."

"But if you kill me, how will you ever find you precious hikari?" Marik said smiling. Bakura pushed Yami off of Marik and flipped him over pinning him to the ground unmovable. He held the knife up to the side of Marik's neck.

"What does that mean?" Marik's smile curled into a twisted smirk against the pavement.

"I already told you that I had my mind slaves pick him up. It was almost too easy seeing as how he was already unconscious. He's mine now," came his muffled response. Bakura increased the pressure of the knife on Marik's necks, creating a very noticeable line and narrowed his eyes. Yami looked from Bakura's face to the knife that was digging into the side of Marik's neck. He couldn't decide what to do. If he stopped Bakura, Marik would live and even if he were sent to the shadow realm, who was to be sure he wouldn't come back again? But if he let Bakura kill him what would happen to Ryou if he weren't bluffing? He felt something on his shoulder and turned his head. Yugi was kneeling beside him looking worried, with Tristan not too far behind, only Tristan seemed more focused on Bakura and Marik.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked quietly. Yami nodded.

"No need to concern yourself with me. I think we need to be worried about Ryou right now."

"I'm not..."

"What did Ryou ever do to you?" Tristan spoke up interrupting Bakura. Marik laughed and Bakura increased the pressure again.

"Absolutely nothing. This jerk just likes to watch people suffer. Scum like you doesn't deserve to be breathing the same air as a rat with rabies."

"That may be true but killing him won't help you any," Yami said.

"It would get me a hell of a lot farther then letting him live. Even if I don't kill him, he won't tell me where Ryou is, if he even really knows at all." So Bakura had been thinking the same thing. Yami closed his eyes, trying to think.

"I'll take care of it," Yugi said standing up. Yami and Tristan both watched in complete shock as he walked over to where Marik and Bakura were.

' What are you doing?' Yami asked through the link. He didn't answer and knelt down beside Marik's head.

"Bakura... I want you to... I need you too... Let him go," he said. A deep blushed crossed his face as soon as the words were out. Everyone except Marik looked at him, unable to figure out what was going through his mind.

"Are you crazy?" Tristan broke the silence. "Yugi, he's threatening to kill us." Yugi tried to hide his face by looking down. Bakura went back to putting pressure on the knife.

"No. This is." Yugi grabbed the millennium rod from where Bakura had thrown it. "And I know exactly where it belongs."


	51. i don't know

"Do you have any idea where they would have gone?" Kaiba asked grabbing his shirt and following Joey to the door. Mokuba stayed where he was and just watched them. Joey turned around.

"I want you to stay here with Mokuba," Joey said not answering the question. "He shouldn't be left alone."

"Neither should you," Kaiba said temporarily forgetting to button his shirt.

"Pfft. I can take care of myself." Joey reached for the doorknob. "Besides, I think..." Kaiba pushed him up against the door before he even knew what was happening. He glanced over Kaiba's shoulder at Mokuba and blushed a little as his heart quickened and the heat rose between them. "Se..."

"Don't even start. The only thing I want to hear out of you is a yes."

"Yes?" Joey offered unsure. Kaiba moved away from him and buttoned up his shirt.

"Come on Mokuba," he said. He started toward the stairs and Mokuba followed. Joey moved away from the door.

"Hey wait! What did I just say yes to?" he called after him. Mokuba looked up at his brother just as curious but Kaiba's face showed no emotion at all.

"Don't worry about it. I promise you won't regret it," he said and disappeared into his room. Mokuba looked back at Joey from the top of the stairs but neither of them said anything. Mokuba sighed and ran the rest of the way to his own room and closed the door. Joey looked down confused and shook his head.

"Whatever. I guess it'll have to wait." He opened the door and left the mansion.

"Yugi, what are you doing? Where are you going?" Yami stood up and started after him.

"Don't follow me. This is something I have to do," his tone made Yami stop short. Yugi turned back and smiled to reassure them that he'd be okay. " I'm going to find Ryou."

"No. You don't get to play the hero this time runt," Bakura picked up Marik and threw him into Yami, then went after Yugi. Yami and Marik fell to the ground and Tristan went over to help them up. Bakura grabbed Yugi's arm. "You tell me where you think he is before I..." Yugi looked at him sharply and then smiled again when he stopped and let go.

"Everything will work out," he said and ran off. Bakura shook his head and followed him, disregarding any orders and looks telling him not too.

"Don't worry. He won't get far," Marik said smugly. He started after both of them but Tristan tripped him and he fell to the ground again.

"Don't underestimate Yugi," Yami said, more to himself then anyone else. It was taking all of his will not to follow him wherever he was going. Tristan knocked Marik unconscious and looked at Yami.

"So you're just going to let him go?" he asked. Yami turned to face him.

"That is what he asked."

"Do you always do what he asks? Come on. I thought you knew better by now." Tristan started off in the direction Yugi and Bakura had gone. Yami stood a minute watching him go, then looked down at Marik and thought about what he was doing. Torn between going after the others and making sure Marik wasn't going to bother them again, he went over to where Marik was lying and knelt down. He could sense that the evil was no longer present and tried to awaken the boy. Marik groaned and his hand moved to his head. The unexpected movement made Yami jump back but when Marik opened his eyes and sat up, Yami moved back to help him.

"How do you feel?" he asked the disoriented child. Marik blinked at him as if trying to remember exactly who he was and then suddenly he was hugging him. Yami was too surprised to react right away.

"Oh Pharaoh, I thought I'd never see you again," Marik said excitedly. "I thought I'd never see anyone again, but here you are. You saved me." Yami tried to get him to let go but the boy's grip on him was too strong. "How can I ever thank you?"

"I didn't do anything yet," Yami responded. "But it'd be much appreciated if you'd let me go." Marik recoiled and made a motion as if making an offering to him.

"Oh, please forgive me. I don't know where my manners have gone." Yami didn't say anything right away and Marik looked up at him again, concern crossing his face. "Really. I didn't mean to..." Yami shook his head and stood up.

"It's okay. You're alright now."

"All thanks to you. I owe you my life. And I won't leave you until I've returned the favor." Yami closed his eyes.

"No need. As I said, I haven't done anything yet." He backed up out of the alley.

"Yami! Where did... Marik? What's he doing here?" Joey ran up to them. As he said the last sentence his face twisted in disgust. Marik stood up and brushed himself off. As Marik started to answer Joey's question, Yami started walking in the direction the others had gone.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Marik abandoned answering Joey and went after Yami. " I thought..."

"I'm going to find Yugi and the others. They could be in danger."

"But what about me? Were you just going to leave me there? You don't want to protect me anymore?" Marik started to look like he was about to cry and Yami sighed.

"No, that's not what I'm saying." Marik's face immediately brightened and he hugged Yami excitedly again. Yami looked away tiredly, regretting changing the boy's mind. Joey just looked at both of them, more confused then ever.

"What's going on guys? Where are Yugi and Tristan?" he asked trying to stay away from whatever might be going on with Marik. Yami pushed Marik off him again and kept walking.

"We're not sure. Yugi said he was going to find Ryou and he took the millennium rod."

"What? How? I thought... So that's why I can't..." Marik said, not really finishing his sentences. Joey just shook his head and ignored him again.

"So they went this way? You do realize where we're headed right?" he said. Yami raised an eyebrow distastefully.

"Yes. I do. And that's why I think we need to be quick about finding them." Joey nodded as they walked deeper into the slummiest part of town.


	52. Never get away

Ryou closed his eyes and tried to bring back his dream. His only desire was to be home in his bed with Bakura making fun of his pajamas. Ryou lay down so he was flat on the floor. ' I can't even sense his heartbeat. What is it that he doesn't want me to know? Why did he shut me out?' He sighed. "If he were dead I would feel it...wouldn't I?" he spoke out loud. Only silence answered. ' I should... I should think about something else...' He opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. ' Maybe I should try to figure out where I am...and maybe how to get out...' He turned his head to look around but the room still looked that same. No windows, no doors...just plain white walls boxing him in. He took in a deep breath. "Mind over body. Spirit over mind. Keep a hopeful spirit and a strong mind and my body... Who am I kidding, I'm going to die here." He sighed again and covered his face with his hands.

"Do you like relying on everyone else to save you?" a voice spoke to him inside his mind. He slowly uncovered his face and looked around for any sign that someone else was there.

"Who...who are y...you?" Ryou stuttered. He was confused by the fact that the voice was speaking directly to his mind, like the way Bakura did...only it was different, and it wasn't Bakura.

"You know they aren't going to help you this time, don't you?" Ryou pushed himself up.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked. The voice seemed to be ignoring him.

"Friends are only friends when it's convenient for them. You are still alone...always. Do you forget that?" it continued.

"I don't..." It interrupted him.

"People come and go. No connection is forever." He closed his eyes and pretended that it wasn't there.

"He is coming for me, I know he is," he whispered.

"Get up you stupid child." Ryou tried harder to block the voice out but there was some kind of power behind it that he couldn't fight in his weakened condition. ' Ba...kur...a... Why did you...abandon...me? You...promised you'd...always...be there...'

' I am,' Bakura's voice broke through frantically. He could sense that he was losing Ryou and tried to help him fight it. Ryou remained quiet, a blank stare fixated on his face.

"It's too late," the other voice answered. "He's mine now."

' Ryou, you damn baby, fight him!'

"Get up," the voice ordered again. Ryou obliged, his movements no longer his own. A door appeared in front of him and he started walking toward it.

' I knew you were too weak for your own good. If only you'd...' Bakura stopped and looked around. "Damn, I lost him," he cursed, realizing that Yugi had disappeared. "Yugi Motou...I curse the day I met you," he mumbled angrily.

"Bakura? What'd you do to Yugi?" Bakura turned around.

"Oh great, another loser," he rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything to him. Go back to where you came from." Tristan frowned.

"I can't leave Yugi out there alone. We're all after the same thing you know." Bakura shook his head and turned back to the last place he'd seen Yugi. "You'd have a better chance at finding him if you had help."

"Just leave me alone." Bakura picked a direction and started walking.

"I wish I could but he's my friend."

"Ryou doesn't need friends."

"I was talking about Yugi," Tristan failed at making a joke. Bakura just glared at him displeased. He turned and started going in a different direction.

"Stop following me. Your friend is probably walking right into another one of Marik's traps. He was stupid to think he could fight him on his own. He's as good as..." Bakura stopped, realizing that Tristan had already taken off in a different direction. He shook his head. "Good riddance, the only good thing about this is that Marik plans on killing all of them too." He continued on in the direction he'd been heading.

"We're never going to find them this way," Yami stopped to think about things. ' Yugi?' he tried the link.

' Don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing. Concentrate on finding Ryou. I don't think we have much time,' came the distant reply.

"But how?" Yami was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he'd spoken it out loud. Joey looked over.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Yami looked at him as if to say, 'should I be?'

"Sometimes I wonder about you," he replied calmly. Joey looked at him confused. Yami sighed and looked at Marik, who had found a spot to sit down on someone's steps. He was looking up at the sky with a deep expression on his face as if he were thinking about something really hard. Yami looked down at the ground. ' We don't even have anything to go on. If I were Marik where would...wait!' Yami looked over at Marik again who blushed when he noticed him staring. "You know where he is," Yami said plainly. Joey looked at him in shock but before either him or Marik could say anything, Yami continued. "Even if YOU don't personally, a part of you does. You know your dark half better then we do. Where would he take someone he'd abducted?" Marik looked at him as if he didn't understand.

"Who?"

"Ryou... You do know. I'm sure of it now." Yami took a few steps toward him and fear entered his eyes.

"I don't." He shook his head and winced thinking that Yami was going to strike him. Instead, Yami backed off, sinking into his own thought again. Marik stood up and moved over toward Joey, as if for protection.

"Yami? What are you..." Yami turned just in time to see Marik raise a rock and hit Joey across the head, knocking him out. The rock fell to the ground as well and an evil smile spread across Marik's face.

"Don't even try to fight me. You can't win. Not this time," he said. Hands shot out and grabbed Yami from behind, holding him down and binding him with ropes. "You had this coming. You thought you could defeat us, well..." he laughed. "This time, we won't be beaten." Yami's eyesight left him as he was blindfolded. Soon after he was being pushed into moving forward.

"Hey what's going on?" He heard Joey's voice. There was a struggle and then it went quiet again.

"You're all stupid for thinking you can escape," Marik laughed again.

A chill seemed to pass through the room and Seto shivered. He stared at the work before him but for some reason, none of it seemed to make sense any more. He knew he knew how to do it but when he did, everything came out wrong. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to relieve the pressure. ' Why can't I concentrate?' he scolded himself. He reached for the pill bottle in his top desk drawer. Counting out two he swallowed them and turned back to the computer. ' I knew I shouldn't have gotten involved. Now it's as if I actually care what happens to the stupid mutt. Like I want him to be...' Seto turned as the sound of his door opening. Mokuba lingered in the doorway a moment and then slowly stepped into the room.

"Do you..." he started but looked down as if embarrassed, rather then finishing. Seto reached out a hand to him and ushered him over.

"Come here," he said. "What is it?"

"Do you... Are you going to leave...him...out there alone?" Mokuba asked stressing the word him as if to give it more meaning. He drifted into his brother's arms and Seto hugged him, looking down at him confused and a little shocked.

"Why are you so worried about that?" Mokuba wouldn't meet his eyes, only burying his face deeper into Seto's chest.

"Because you are," he mumbled shyly. Seto blinked and looked at the door. ' He wasn't really _worried_ about Joey...was he?'


	53. Left behind

Bakura kicked a rock that was in his way and scowled. _' Stupid kid, why can't he learn to take care of himself?'_ He looked up when someone growled and stood up.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" a voice yelled angrily.

"What are you doing?" Bakura responded, taking interest when he realized where he was. Duke let go of the wire he was holding and moved out of the bushes casually.

"I was seeing if anyone was home," he nodded as if to make it more believable. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I don't have time for this." He moved on. Duke looked back at the game shop deciding whether or not to go back and then took off after him.

"Where are you going? Won't Ryou be mad that you're out so late?" Bakura sent him a threatening look and he stopped a moment to recover. " Well he would." Duke shrugged.

"What I do is none of your business."

"Would you be so quick to disregard me if I told you that I know where he is?" Bakura whirled around so fast that Duke had no time to react. He was pinned to a wall in seconds, wincing at the impact.

"Don't play games with me. I'm NOT in the mood," Bakura snapped. After the initial shock wore off, Duke smirked.

"How about an alliance?" Bakura looked at him crossly. "I take you to Ryou and you help me bring down Yugi."

"I have no interest in bringing down anyone...except you right now. You tell me where he is or you won't be telling anyone anything ever again." Duke sighed and shook the hair from his face, not even showing a slight sign of fear.

"I think you're in no position to be making threats. You know how much danger he's in right now and you know there isn't much time." Bakura tightened his grip and then released him. _' Damn. If only he wasn't so weak. If I could get to him I could break Marik's spell. This would be easier if Yugi hadn't taken the...'_ Duke started to laugh and Bakura looked at him sharply. He grunted angrily and started away again.

"I don't need your help," he grumbled. He tried using the link alone but all he received back was a hollow feeling. _' How in the world is he still controlling everyone if he doesn't have the rod? Does Marik know something that we don't?'_

"He's going to die you know," Duke taunted. Bakura closed his eyes. _' No he won't. I won't let him.'_ He ignored him. He focused on the two millennium items that were in the area, both taking him in opposite directions, one leading to Yugi and the other to Yami. But which one should he follow? He didn't know if Yami was still waiting where they'd left him like the idiot he was or if he'd actually moved to do something. And Yugi...was he really after Ryou or was he after something else? He took in a deep breath and just chose one, hoping to God that Yami wasn't as stupid as he thought he was.

* * *

Yami blinked awake in an empty white room. When he tried to move, he found himself bound and when he turned his head to look around he found that he wasn't as alone as he'd first thought. Joey was bound in a similar manner across the room from him, leaning on a wall and so were Tristan and Tea. Tea looked badly beaten and Tristan had a black eye and a few other bruises but Joey's only wound seemed to be the one on his head. _' I guess he was lucky that he didn't have time to fight back,'_ Yami thought with a sigh._ ' How did I ever let us get into this? I promised Yugi I'd protect them... Well at least he's safe. At least I hope so.'_ He tried to use the link but when he found that he could no longer call out to him he looked himself over as best he could. His puzzle was gone. Worry creased his forehead and he tried frantically to get out of his bindings, only seeming to make them tighter. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes to clear his mind. Panicking wouldn't help him any right then. He needed to find a way to get out without making the situation worse, and he needed to do it quick. Ryou was still in danger as well and that had been his first priority, especially since he didn't know how much time he had left. A groan came from his side and he looked back at Joey who was waking up.

"Awe man. I feel like someone put my head in a blender and left it on all night," he mumbled. He tried to touch his head but his bindings stopped him. His eyes snapped opened. "Hey! What's going on?" he cried out angrily.

"I don't know," Yami spoke. Joey froze and looked over, noticing him for the first time.

"Yami? The last thing I remember is..."

"Marik hit you over the head and now we're here."

"I knew he was trouble. Why did you let him follow you around like that anyway? Did you forget what he did to you in Battle City?" Yami closed his eyes and sighed.

"I was giving him the benefit of the doubt. I thought maybe he'd realized the error of his ways."

"Pfft. Yeah. We see how well that worked." Yami turned his head away. "Awe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that," Joey tried to redeem himself.

"It's okay. It is true." Yami paused. _' We need to concentrate on removing the bonds.' _He turned back to Joey. "Hey, are you able to get over here?" Joey looked at him skeptically.

"Yeah...right. Let me just tap into my powers of astral projection. These things are as tight as Kaiba on a bad day."

"Can you tell if Tea and Tristan are alright?" Joey looked over and studied them.

"No, they don't look good. I don't think Tea's breathing." Yami made a noise of frustration, which made Joey look back over in surprise at Yami showing a weak side.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll find a way out of this." He started to squirm to make his way over, without much luck. "Or we could just wait until he kills us. You know CPR right?" Yami didn't respond. He was too busy trying to connect with Yugi. Even without the millennium puzzle he still felt like Yugi was close to him. That gave him slight comfort but he was still uncertain.

"Yugi...please be safe," he whispered a prayer. Joey watched him sympathetically. _' I bet Kaiba is busy typing away at his computer. I bet he's not even thinking twice about me. Why would he? I'm just a stupid toy to him... But thinking like that won't get us out of here.'_ Joey started to look for a way to get untied, and then decided it easier to just find a way to get to Yami. He leaned back against the wall in defeat. _' God, if only I had a brain...'_ Then it hit him. He turned his head and moved his body away from the wall to see behind him. _' All those silly games I used to play with Tristan really did teach me something besides how to run faster and hit harder. Now if only I can remember how I did it.'_

* * *

' _I can't always follow him around like he's the only thing that matters. He's NOT the only thing that matters. In fact, he's nowhere close.'_ Kaiba sighed and buried his face in his hands. _' So...why do I want to?'_ Mokuba looked over from where he was on the bed reading a magazine Seto had had on the nightstand. He put the magazine back down and walked over to the desk.

"Seto? Do you think that the thing that got Ryou is gonna get us too?" Seto looked at him skeptically.

"Mokuba, it was a person who hit Ryou and it was just an accident." _' I don't believe that.'_ "Nobody's 'gonna get' us." _' I don't know if that's true either.'_ "And when did you start talking like that? You're not five." _' That's great. Insult the kid, that'll make him feel better.'_ Kaiba closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands again. _' I blame that stupid mutt for this.'_

"I'm just..." Mokuba shrugged and gracefully made his way around the desk. "I don't know. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning," He said reluctantly leaving.

"Well that went well," Kaiba rolled his eyes. _' He'll be fine,'_ he shrugged it off, looking back at the computer screen. _' I wish I could say the same for me. If only...'_ Kaiba shook the thought from his mind, trying to convince himself that he didn't care. He scanned the endless page of code until it all seemed to blur together. He pulled out the pill bottle from his top desk drawer again and stood up. _' Maybe I just need to get some sleep...or take a walk to clear my head.'_ He removed two pills from the bottle and placed them on the desk. He looked at the clock and then the doorway. His mind slipped again. _' If only I knew that he were okay... Damn him for getting under my skin like this.'_ Kaiba stood up frustrated and went downstairs to get a glass of water. As he passed by the front door the thought of just taking a walk came back to his mind. He looked toward the stairs as if he could see Mokuba up in his room sleeping, or at least getting to it. _' I won't even leave the grounds,'_ he told himself and opened the door. Yugi was cuddled up against his front steps, out of breath, with the millennium rod tightly clutched in his fist and held to his chest. Kaiba looked around the grounds for signs of his security. _' I see how well they do they're jobs.'_ He rolled his eyes and refocused on the panting child in front of him.

"Are you alone?" he asked. Yugi took in a deep breath and pulled himself to standing, walking past Kaiba into the mansion.

"You need your cards," he said rapidly. Kaiba turned back to watch him as he put the rod down on the couch closest to them.

"What are you babbling about?" Kaiba closed the door and followed him into the living room.

"You have to duel Marik. You have to...win... You have to...gain control..." Yugi's words were becoming more and more forced and he started around the room as if looking for something in delirium.

"Where are the others?" Yugi froze, a look that couldn't really be described overcoming his face.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that," he shrunk to the floor looking down. "Why did you have to ask that? I knew you'd want to know but I was hoping you wouldn't ask." He was starting to sound hysterical and rambled on as if he were talking to himself. "He came back. Marik's back. I knew he wasn't gone. I had this feeling but I never thought... But he is and now he's going to kill them... How did I let it happen? It wasn't supposed to happen. But he has them... He has them all and I can't... I can't hear him anymore..." Tears drifted down the sides of his face and Kaiba watched him helplessly.

"Who does he have?" he asked trying not to let his worry show any more then it already had. If Mokuba were in the room he was sure he'd be laughing at him. _' Just admit it Seto.' _He could almost hear the taunting

"Ryou and Tristan... Yami..." Yugi broke into a sob. "He has Yami..."

"What about Joey?" he tried to cut the words off but they were out before he had control over them. Yugi stopped for a second to nod and wipe the tears from his face.

"That's why... You have to duel him. If you win a duel with him you regain you're control of the millennium rod and he can't use it's evil any more. I wasn't supposed to have it but you are. I know you don't believe any of this stuff but if you really truly care about Joey...you'll do it. It's the only way to stop him from returning again..." Yugi stood up. "Please Kaiba. I can't lose them this way." Kaiba took it all in and raised an eyebrow in disbelief but at the thought of a certain person getting hurt, he walked to the edge of the stairs.

"Mokuba! Grab my deck!" Still not quite understanding the logic behind all of it he'd decided to humor him. He watched Yugi walk slowly over to the couch.

"Yami? Is that you?" he said quietly. _' Great now he's talking to himself. He's the perfect picture of insanity and I'm listening to him because...'_ Kaiba stopped. _' Why AM I listening to him. I never would have before.'_ Kaiba decided it was pointless to try and figure it out. He'd already decide that anything from this point forward involving Joey wasn't worth the aggravation. It just was and that was that. Trying to decide why he felt the way he did was just another waste of mindless thought with no real consolation. He already decided that the reason why he was still standing there now, not calling his security to come escort the sad soul away, was because he'd fallen for that blonde, in more ways then he could count or understand.

"Mokuba?!" He called again. He started up the stairs. _' Where is he? I know he can't be sleeping already.'_ And he was right. Mokuba wasn't sleeping. Mokuba's room was empty with only one small note lying on his bed.

' _If you won't help him, I will, because I know that's what you want to do.'_ Kaiba took in a deep breath and tried to fight off his anger. _' All of this because I was too stubborn to admit that I actually cared... Mokuba...'_ He grabbed his briefcase from his room and continued on to the door.

"Come on Yugi. We have a duel to win."


	54. Unsettling atmosphere

"Stop following me before I'm forced to send you to the shadow realm," Bakura snapped noticing that Duke was still at his heels.

"We both know that you lose your shadow powers when you take form outside of Ryou. You need to be with him," Duke shrugged it off.

"You want to test that theory?" Bakura growled. "Things are different now." He slipped a card from his back pocket. "Man-Eater Bug!" A flash of light responded and Duke tensed, preparing for the assault, but no bug appeared. Duke let out his breath in relief as his apprehension melted away.

"See..." he said matter-of-factly. No sooner had the word slipped past his lips that a shadow descended upon him, cornering him into an alley. Bakura smirked as Duke's eyes snapped shut and his hands moved to protect his face as the creature inched closer.

' Bakura!' he heard the small scolding voice at the back of his mind. He sighed and rolled his eyes, slipping the card back into his pocket. With it's disappearance the bug also went. ' Curse you Ryou. Even when you aren't here I still hear you. I hate myself for becoming as low as the stupid Pharaoh, letting his light control his actions.' Bakura shook his head and continued toward his destination, wherever that happened to end up being. Duke opened his eyes slowly and lowered his arms, quickly recomposing himself as if nothing had happened.

"Now stop following me," Bakura reiterated. Duke persisted.

"Can't you see that it's in your best interest for me to help you? I'm not asking for anything that you haven't wanted to do yourself anyway."

"I don't need help. Especially from you," Bakura replied disdainfully. Duke stopped his pursuit, a look of hurt crossing his face. The quick withdrawal took Bakura off guard and he turned back a little surprised. Duke smiled, taking that as a sign of him reconsidering.

"Everyone always sees it my way," he said victoriously. Bakura narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to banish him but that scolding voice took over his mind again. Bakura scowled and moved on.

"Ever when he isn't here he won't shut up," he grumbled. He stopped and smirked. " That's right... He ISN'T here." He turned on the black-haired stalker and smiled, a smile way too pleased for Duke's comfort. The boy started to tense up again. "How much do you value your life?" Bakura purred. Duke's eyes widened and he found it hard to maintain his normally cool composure.

"Well I like to think..." He stopped short when Bakura moved toward him.

"Time's up," Bakura raised an eyebrow in amusement over the look on Duke face. Fear crept into his eyes ever so slowly. Bakura raised a hand to the boys face, pinching his cheeks together and probably leaving a bruise. "You really should be more careful with who you chose to play your games with. Some people really don't like games." Duke pushed Bakura's hands away and backed up, trying to regain feeling in the spots where Bakura's fingers had been. He noticed Bakura advancing on him again and turned, making a mad dash away from him. Bakura's smile widened. "They always run." He pulled a card from his pocket. "But they NEVER get away." He flicked it over his shoulder gracefully as he continued on again, a flash of light appearing and disappearing behind him. The growl of a monster quickly responded and a scream followed shortly. Bakura continued on his way, ignoring any pangs of guilt that seemed to want to surface. He thought about Ryou again and frowned. ' How can I be out here trying to save the very same being that I wished was never there to begin with?' he thought to himself.

Because you need him...

The answer hung in the air but remained unsaid. He sighed and pressed on, tossing any memories of what had just happened aside. If Ryou caught him thinking like that he'd be mad and he hated it when the kid was mad. The silence was too unbearable.

"Where do we find him?" Kaiba asked as he and Yugi exited the grounds and he ushered him into the limo. Yugi still seemed distant. He was smiling now but his mind was elsewhere...and the smile was starting to scare Kaiba. The door closing behind them seemed to wake him up though.

"Huh? Oh..." Yugi looked down and blushed. "I don't know. We never really found out..." Kaiba looked at him unamused.

"Yugi...this isn't any time to be fooling around."

"I know...and I'm not. I honestly don't know where he is. I really hadn't thought that far ahead..." Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I don't know why I always have to do everything myself." Kaiba barked orders at the driver and they started off.

' How did I let this happen?' Yami closed his eyes helplessly, and sunk into his own deep dark thoughts, becoming oblivious to everything else that was going on around him...including all the noise that Joey was making as he attempted his escape. He only broke out when he heard the blonde speak.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Not to him. Yami traced the wall from the spot where Joey had used to be to the spot where he now was, hovering over Tristan. Tristan still seemed unconscious but the doubtful laugh in response to Joey's inquiry told his otherwise.

"Yeah. I don't think 'okay' is the best word to describe the situation right now," he said pushing himself up straighter as Joey took the ties away. Joey smiled and moved on to Tea. Tristan frowned and stretched, then joined him.

"You sure you should be moving like that?" Joey asked. Tristan shrugged it off.

"How's she look?" he nodded toward Tea.

"Well I'm not a doctor but I'd say not good. She's really cold and I still don't think she's breathing." Tristan helped him untie her and move her so she was lying flat on her back.

"She was beaten pretty badly," Tristan said agreeingly.

"Maybe Marik has something against women," Joey said looking at him. Tristan wasn't amused.

"Dude, this is no time to be joking around," he said crossly. Joey shrugged.

"It's a coping mechanism or something. I can't help it," he defended himself.

"Well cope some other way. Give her CPR or something."

"What?! No way! Why do I always have to do all the weird stuff?"

"You're closer," Tristan pointed out. Joey backed away from the body.

"What if she's already dead? I'm not..." Her eyes twitched as if she was having a nightmare and both boys screamed and hugged each other. She relaxed again and didn't move or make another sound. Tristan pushed Joey away from him so hard that he landed only a few inches from where Yami was. "Oh hey," he blushed and brushed his hair back. "I forgot you were still here." Yami just looked at him. He straightened himself up and moved to untie him.

"Hey, I think she's waking up!" Tristan exclaimed. Joey abandoned the spirit once again and crawled back over to them.

"But I don't wanna go to Kaiba Corp..." she whined in her sleep. Joey and Tristan exchanged looks of shock and worry.

"She must be talking to you," Tristan said smiling. Joey scowled and crossed his arms, looking away. He started to make a smart remark back but Yami's words stopped him.

"Someone's coming," he said, causing everyone's eyes to shoot toward the door. Yami turned back to them. "Don't just sit there! Untie me already! And help Tea wake up," he screamed frustrated. Joey rushed over to him and fumbled with the ropes as Tristan tried to shake Tea awake. The doorknob turning made them all freeze again as they watched the door in anticipation of who might be coming through it. The door creaked open and a figure made it's way slowly inside.

"Ryou?" all three said in unison, all confused and all in surprise. "Is it really you?" Joey added, forgetting Yami once more. The boy smiled cheerfully and everyone awake sighed in relief that quickly turned back to fear when laughter broke out.

"That's not Ryou," Yami said, voicing their thoughts aloud.

"You thought you could escape? I admire you efforts. I take it this means you didn't like my accommodations." Joey immediately went back to releasing Yami. Yami sat up and rubbed his wrists.

"Release him Marik," he ordered. Ryou's body shook with laughter again.

"I have a better idea. And to make it a little more interesting, I brought you some more company." Ryou shifted so that someone behind him could push someone else into the room. Everyone gasped.

"Mokuba..."


	55. reunited

"Get off of me you freak!" Mokuba yelled angrily as he was thrown down. He landed in front of Yami and Joey but stood up again, his hands clutched tight in fists.

"Mokuba," Joey repeated. "What are you doing here? Where's..."

"I came to rescue you," Mokuba smiled proudly. This received another laugh from the spirit controlling Ryou.

"The time is near," he said. He whisked the door shut and a lock clicked into place. " Your efforts are in vain, there's no way out." The voice concluded, muffled slightly by the thick door. Tea was waking up now and fought to push herself up.

"What's going on? Why does my head hurt?" she said as Tristan moved to help her up. She looked around the room confused. "And where are we?" Yami stood up and went over to examine the door.

"I don't think this is an ordinary door," he said.

"What in this place is?" Joey mumbled. He stood up as well and looked Mokuba over. " And what the hell did you think you were doing? You could have gotten yourself hurt," he scolded and then his voice softened. " You didn't, did you?" Mokuba smiled again.

"Of course not. I got caught on purpose," he said. He pulled out some kind of electronic device no bigger then the size of his hand and pressed a button. The lock clicked outside and the door creaked open a little as a red light started flashing on and off on the ceiling and water started to spray from the sprinklers. Everyone looked up as the water quickly soaked them all.

"What was that?" Tristan asked standing up, half trying to protect Tea and half trying to see the others through the downpour.

"No building in Domino doesn't have an automatic release system when a fire breaks out. Everything is automatically disabled to avoid it spreading to anywhere else or harming anyone who happens to be inside. The government had us install them in every building that we owned."

"So that means...you know where we are?" Joey beamed and pulled Mokuba into a happy hug. "I take back every mean thing that Tristan ever said about you!"

"Hey!" Tristan objected.

"Don't rejoice yet Joey. We still have a long way to go before we're safe," Yami reminded them. Joey loosened his grip on Mokuba and Mokuba pushed him away annoyed.

"I set up a tracker outside so that Kaiba Corp could find us but they might take awhile and we don't know when those creepy guys are coming back," he continued. Joey pouted.

"Way to crash a guy's hope guys," Joey said sarcastically.

"Well let's stop talking about it and start putting some distance between us and them," Tea broke in, limping over with assistance from Tristan.

"Yeah, I don't think standing here getting wet is any good for us either," he added. Yami looked through the crack in the door and then slowly opened it.

"Okay, let's go." He led the way out. Once they were all out Mokuba took the lead, ushering them all around the back of the building.

"Which way?" Joey asked stepping up beside Mokuba to get a good look around the corner. Mokuba pointed.

"You go first," he said. Joey looked at him.

"But I have no idea where I'm going? And what happened to Mr. I'm Here To Save You?"

"I got you out didn't I? Just go first."

"I think Tea and Tristan should go first," Yami broke into the conversation. " It'll be harder for them to get away quickly if someone comes. Joey, you stay close to them." Joey nodded as Tristan helped Tea start out.

"Lead me. Where am I going?" Joey looked to Mokuba. Mokuba nodded forward.

"Just keep going straight to the end of the row of buildings. Stay close to the walls." Joey started after them, relaying the information and making sure that he was never more then a few steps away from them. Mokuba followed after with Yami.

"So what happened to Yugi? Why isn't he with you guys?" Yami looked down at him to make a reply but a startled yelp from Joey made them both look toward him. He was on the ground rubbing one knee with one hand and his head with the other.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked trying to hold in a laugh. Tea sent him a disappointed look.

"Tristan! This is no time to be laughing," she reprimanded. His smile faded and he left her leaning on the wall to help Joey back up.

"I know that wasn't an accident," Joey muttered bitterly. "Someone tripped me." Tristan backed off.

"Don't look at me." He put up his hands in surrender. Joey smacked him across the back of the head.

"No duh."

"Well I don't see anyone...or anything for that matter," Yami said examining the area that they'd just passed.

"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to keep his pri...ahh!" Something from the shadow grabbed Tristan and covered his mouth. "Mfhhnmht," He struggled to free himself. Everyone tensed up and Joey got ready to attack. The being stepped into the light and Yami relaxed.

"Bakura, let him go," he said boredly. The spirit sighed and released him. He ran around to hide behind Joey and recompose himself.

"But you're all being so serious. As if there's really danger here."

"How did you end up here? I thought you were chasing Yugi?" Yami ignored the implication. Bakura scowled.

"I lost him so I decided to follow you instead. He wasn't taking me where I wanted to go anyway. I was actually surprised to find this..." Bakura held up the millennium puzzle. "...before I found you." Yami went to grab it but Bakura ripped it away. "Bad Pharaoh. Being so careless like that. I don't think you deserve to have it back."

"We don't have time to fight over this. Marik could be..." Tea started.

"R...right there..." Joey pointed feebly at a figure that was approaching.

"Where did Marik get a briefcase?" Tea asked doubtfully.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that pointing is rude?" the familiar coldhearted voice responded. Joey dropped his arm.

"Seto!" Mokuba exclaimed and ran over to him.

"As if you really care about what's rude or not," Joey muttered trying to hide his embarrassment. Kaiba glared at him.

"Yami! You're okay! I was so worried," Yugi appeared behind Kaiba and ran to Yami's side. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Well isn't this just..."

"A most touching reunion," a dark voice interrupted. Marik walked out of one of the buildings, pushing Ryou ahead of him, the white haired boy appearing to no longer be held in his control. He was tied at the wrists and gagged with blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. His eyes were filled with water and he was trembling. Bakura pushed the millennium puzzle back into Yami pushing the surprised spirit back a bit as well and approached the two newest arrivals.

"You let him go!" he demanded angrily. Marik smiled daringly.

"Or what? You'll attack me with one of your cards? Your tricks are useless against me...and you're all doomed." He pushed Ryou into them and looked up to signal something from above. A large cage fell over them, locking itself into the ground and trapping them.

"Well this wasn't in the city plans," Mokuba muttered looking around for any exit.

"I don't think we're in Domino anymore," Joey said noticing the unnatural mist that was rising around them.

"Where else would we be?" Kaiba said rudely. He walked to the side of the cage, closest to Marik. "Let's settle this with a duel." Marik laughed.

"A duel?" He shook his head as if it was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. " Welcome to the new ages. We don't settle everything with duels anymore or haven't you looked around lately?"

"Does that mean you're afraid you'll lose?"

"Kaiba, what are you doing?" Joey pulled him aside. "You can't 'duel' Marik. If you haven't noticed this isn't a game he's playing."

"But I thought all your friends were all about games?"

"Marik is NOT my friend," Joey said taking a glance toward the dark spirit.

"Really? He's just as crazy as they all are." Joey scowled.

"You're going to get yourself hurt," he tried another route. Kaiba just smirked.

"Awe, puppy, I'm touched. Really. But I can take care of myself." He turned away from the blonde and back to Marik. "So. What will it be? I'll even play a game of your own."

"Oh? But you already are." Marik disappeared and so did the cage, but they were no longer in the city but on what looked like a game board where they were the peices. "Whoever gets to the end...might live. Choose now who's most important to you because I guarantee, not all of you will survive. Oh, one last thing...stay away from the shadows, well, if you can that is." Laughter was the last thing they heard before they all fainted.


	56. Mind games

Joey woke to the touch of someone's lips on his own. He vigorously pushed that person away and sat up straight, causing his blue-eyed companion to cross his arms annoyed.

"Good- morning to you too," he said bitterly.

"Seto? What's going on? Where are the others?"

"Others? I didn't know you were like that, Joe." Joey scowled.

"No, no, no. We were stuck in Marik's trap. He put us into this..."

"Marik? Didn't he disappear after Battle City?" Kaiba looked at him skeptically.

"He did...but he came back. And you challenged him to a duel but he..."

"Why would I challenge HIM to a duel? Joe. I think you should stop eating right before you go to bed. It's affecting your mind. You really need to learn the difference between fantasy and reality. Let me help you, Joe. There's no one here," Kaiba made it sound like it was a secret revelation. He leaned over so he was almost nose to nose with the blonde and smirked. "Except me of course..." He started to bridge the remaining gap but Joey pulled back again and stood up.

"Why are you acting like this? This isn't like you at all," he protested. Kaiba sighed and leaned back resting his head on his arms as he pulled them back.

"Oh? And what am I like?" he inquired acting interested.

"Not like this. Come on. I know it was real. It hurt too much not to be." Joey brought a hand to the spot where Marik had hit him in the head.

"Some dreams can seem to be very realistic. That doesn't make them any less fictional." Joey rolled his eyes realizing how much Kaiba sounded like a teacher just then. He sat back down on the bed and studied his hands in his lap.

"But it WASN'T a dream. And even if it was, this still doesn't make sense. Where are we?" Kaiba looked at him like he was the dumbest person in the world.

"My room," he said rudely, getting more annoyed. Joey nodded but that only made Kaiba more confused.

"How did we get here? The last place we were before I left to go find the guys was the bathroom. We never came anywhere near your room." Kaiba smiled and wrapped himself around Joey from behind.

"And what were we doing in the bathroom?" he said slyly.

"Kaiba, don't do this," Joey said not very convincing. Kaiba started to kiss his neck and Joey closed his eyes.

"Do you trust me?" the question came out sharper then Kaiba had intended but it's effect was the same. Joey turned to look at him imploringly.

"What does that..."

"Just...answer me." Joey nodded.

"Well yeah...as much as I can at this point."

"Then drop it." Kaiba pulled away from him and crossed his arms.

"But..." Kaiba sent him a stern look and he stopped.

"Where's Mokuba?" Joey asked unexpectedly. Kaiba raised an eyebrow and started to reply but the door swung open and Mokuba came bouncing in as if to answer for him.

"Good-morning!" he cried cheerfully. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He sent a wink in the direction of his brother.

"No. I was just leaving," Joey stood up and grabbed his shirt and jacket from where they were draped over the desk chair. He slipped them on but didn't bother to button the shirt.

"Joey, where are you going?" Kaiba asked boredly, with a bit of aggravation thrown in.

"I'm going to take a walk. I need to clear my head," Joey responded hoping it was enough.

"I thought we were done with this. What is there to clear up?" Joey met his eyes briefly before slipping on his shoes and walking to the doorway.

"I just need to think ok?" he spat out harshly but instead of his normal reaction to that kind of tone, Kaiba just nodded. Mokuba crawled up on the bed and gave his brother a hug and then joined Joey at the door.

"I'll start breakfast," he said. He and Joey left together. "Should I save you some?" He looked to the blonde in question. "Will you be back?" Joey sighed.

"I don't know yet." He exited through the front door but he didn't take his walk. He never made it past the front steps. He sat down on the bottom step and sunk his head into his hands. "It couldn't have been a dream. It was so real..." Kaiba's words passed through his mind. _' Some dreams can seem to be very realistic. That doesn't make them any less fictional.'_ Joey brushed his hair back. "So what if...it wasn't..." He took in a deep breath. "Then I just made a complete fool of myself." He sighed and sunk his head lower, if that was even possible. He held the back of his head down with his hands. ' And he was trying so hard to be nice...' he thought. He shook his head and stood up. "No. This can't be real. This has to be another of Marik's tricks. It HAS to be." Joey stepped off the step and started across the grounds. The sound of the front door opening stopped him. He turned to see Kaiba, still only half dressed, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. Joey took a few steps back toward the house. " Now before you even say anything I think I need to..." Joey stopped when Kaiba looked away unresponsive. ' It really does look like him,' he thought. ' And standing there like that...' Kaiba took a step toward him and he tensed up, sensing that something still wasn't right. There was something about the look in his eyes that kept Joey unsettled.

"I really thought this would have worked. Your desires were so strong and your mind so weak. I guess..." suddenly there was no room between the two and fear slipped into Joey's eyes and Kaiba grabbed his chin roughly. "I guess I was wrong but... You're still going to pay." Joey tried to run but Kaiba grabbed a hold of him so he couldn't. He twirled Joey around stripping him of his shirt and jacket and then he threw him to the ground. "See how well you fair now. I was giving you the easy way out. Now I bet you wish you really were that dumb." Pain shot through Joey's body and he winced but his mind seemed to be going blank. Kaiba disappeared, the mansion disappeared, even the ground disappeared; Joey was alone and when he opened his eyes again he was in the woods. He coughed, finding in hard to breathe for the moment and curled up into a ball as he shivered in the cool breeze. Then he started to fade in and out of consciousness.

Yami, Yugi, and Ryou woke up with a start at a screeching sound that seemed to surround them. Yugi clung to Yami who just contented with feeling the boy in his arms again, momentarily forgetting any danger that might be around. Ryou looked around wildly but saw nothing until he noticed a shadow that seemed to be circling above them. He looked up and his eyes widened when he realized exactly what it was that had made the sound. He rushed to stand, alarming both Yami and Yugi who joined his gaze upward.

"I think we need to go!" he cried and started to run. Yami pushed Yugi to his feet, then stood up himself, both of them following after Ryou toward the protection of the woods. Another cry split the air as the creature noticed it's meal escaping and it started to lower itself to get to them before they got any further away. Ryou tripped at the same instant that something shot past them all and into the dragon. A different kind of screech rang out, followed by the thud as it hit the ground. Yami and Yugi froze and they all turned back around. The creature lay dying from a knife wound to its chest. Ryou sat up and looked at Yugi confused but Bakura came into view from another section of woods waving a second knife in one of his hands. He pulled out the first one and wiped it off, cursing at the beast and putting both knives out of sight again. Ryou got up and ran to him.

"'Kura you saved us!" he cried happily as he wrapped his arms around the spirit.

"Don't get used to it," Bakura mumbled. He looked to Yami.

"We need to find the others," Yami said as he and Yugi walked closer to them. Yugi nodded in agreement.

"And then find a way out of here," he added. Ryou looked around.

"But where's here?" he asked looking back to them for an answer. "The last thing I remember is some guys breaking into my house."

"You don't remember Marik?" Yugi asked. Ryou looked to Bakura and frowned.

"Oh yeah..." Something seemed to pass between the two of them and then Ryou smiled.

"I say you forget about trying to find anyone else and just get the hell out of here now," Bakura said returning his gaze to Yami.

"Does that mean you know how?" Yami asked curiously. Bakura nodded.

"It's easier then you think," he said. Yugi and Ryou looked at him questionably.

"We can't just leave them here," Yugi's eyes filled with worry and Yami put a hand to his shoulder for comfort.

"We would be better help to them out there," Bakura said indicating the real world. " This is just a game after all." His eyes presented a challenge to the supposed King of Games and Yami nodded in agreement. He looked down at Yugi.

"He has a point. From the outside we would be able to know everything that's involved in this," he said which only made Yugi more upset.

"No. I won't leave them in here. You guys can go if you want but I'm staying to the end of this." Yami met Bakura's eyes again and shook his head.

"I'm not leaving him," he said. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"I find it annoying how you'd risk other people's lives just because of a few useless souls trapped in a game."

"No one said you had to stay," Yami narrowed his eyes. Bakura scowled.

"I can't leave without you. Sorry to say but we have to work together to get out of here. Unless of course we finish the game...which, I wouldn't really recommend. That dragon wasn't the only creature milling around here. He was right when he said we don't have much of a chance of survival." Ryou moved closer to Yugi.

"Well I'm not leaving either then," he said nodding to add effectiveness. Bakura sighed annoyed.

"What is it with you people? This isn't your normal kind of game. If you die in here, you die in real life. And it won't be too pleasant a death either."

"Bakura. Please. You don't have to understand," Ryou looked at him pleadingly.

"But..." he stopped when Ryou sent him a message inside his head. He sighed and crossed his arms, looking away from them. "Fine. But don't expect me to protect you. It's every man for himself in here." He started walking off deeper into the woods. Ryou smiled nervously, rethinking his decision to stay and then started to follow him. Yami and Yugi followed shortly after.

"Do we even know the rules to this games?" Yami asked pushing a tree branch out of the way so Yugi could get through.

"Or exactly what KIND of game it is?" Yugi added.

"Isn't it obvious?" Bakura said sarcastically. Yugi looked to Yami worriedly. Bakura just looked away boredly. "There are no rules and the only objective is to stay alive."

"Well then how does it end?" Ryou looked at him inquiringly. Bakura chose not to answer.

"Well I remember Marik saying something about staying away from shadows," Yugi said, thinking out loud.

"Well if he meant that the shadows themselves were dangerous then I think we have quite a problem," Ryou moved his eyes upward when Yugi looked over then smiled nervously. "The sun seems to set here just as it does in the real world."

"Yu...gi..." The voice made all of them stop. It sounded strangled and forced and nobody seemed to be able to tell where it had come from.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Yugi asked warily. Ryou nodded.

"What do you think it was?" he asked. Yami scanned the trees with his eyes.

"I'm not sure but it sounded a little like Joey," he said. Yugi and Ryou joined his search of the surrounding trees.

"Which direction do you think?" Yugi asked.

"Let's just keep going. I didn't hear anything," Bakura snapped angrily. Ryou glared at him as the other two just ignored him and continued the search.

"Joey!" Yugi called in no particular direction.

"It's three against one," Ryou said proudly as if winning some kind of battle. This just made Bakura roll his eyes again and slump down next to a tree in annoyance.

"Joey!?" The three of them split up but never got too far away from each other. Yami came to him first.

"Over here!" He called as he took his jacket off and draped it over the shivering boy. He was unconscious and wearing nothing but a ripped up pair of jeans and his sneakers. Yugi knelt down on the opposite side of him and tried to wake him up.

"He seems to be in shock," he concluded after looking the boy over.

"I say we leave him then. He'll just..." Ryou shot him a sharp look and he stopped, settling for a scowl of disapproval. "Fine. Let me fix him then." He pushed Yugi away from the body roughly and put his face right up to Joey's. He whispered something in Egyptian and smirked as the millennium ring started to react. Joey snapped awake in an instant. He jumped away in fear at Bakura's closeness, clinging to the next closest thing to him, which just happened to be Yami. Yami was too shocked at the sudden movement to react but Yugi blushed for him as Ryou sent Bakura another cross look. Bakura shrugged and walked back over to Ryou. Ryou took the opportunity to hit him.

"Don't ever do that again!" he scolded. Bakura rubbed the place where he'd been hit aggravated.

"Glad to see you back in full health," he said sarcastically. When Joey realized what he was doing he scrabbled away from Yami and blushed himself, then grabbed the jacket protectively, using it to cover himself.

"Are you okay Joey?" Yugi asked trying to fend off the uncomfortable silence that was sinking in. Joey blinked and relaxed.

"Yeah... I think so...but are...you guys real?" Ryou and Yugi exchanged concerned looks. Yugi moved to help the blonde up.

"Yes..." he answered uncertain. A smiled spread across Joey's face.

"Then I'm great!" he exclaimed and hugged the shorter teen. Yugi blushed again unable to decide whether to push him away or let him get it out of his system.

"Wh...what h...happened to you?" he asked trying not to seem like it was at all weird. Joey pulled away and stood up, hurriedly pulling on Yami's jacket.

"To tell you the truth...nothing." He shrugged and smiled goofily. Everyone looked at him unsure but Bakura started walking again so they of course, started to follow.

* * *

Raine: Well hey. I tried to post this yesterday but my computer is being very bad again. We just switched internet providers and all soI don't know how well it will be working for the next couple of weeks. I hope to have this story done before I lose all internet connection so that's that. Um, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for turning this into something so...dark. I really didn't mean too. A lot has been happening and I guess I decided to take out all my frustration on this fic. I do promise that it won't be for much longer. I also started to write another story to kind redeem myself I guess. LoL. I know it's stupid but I don't know. I felt that somehow I needed to. Thanks for sticking with me through such a dark turn...smiles Bye all. 


	57. Losing focus

" Where am I?" Tristan pushed himself up and opened his eyes. He looked around confused and then down at himself. " I remember…" he stopped and thought about it. " Nothing." He looked around again. " Who am I and what am I doing here?" He climbed to his feet. " And which way was I going?" He looked toward a row of trees and then down a hill toward another row of trees. " It all looks the same." He scratched his head and sighed. A growl from somewhere in the trees gave him no more time to think about it as he started running as fast as he could away from whatever it was. That is until he tripped and fell, rolling down the hill and onto… Kaiba.

Kaiba winced at the impact and angrily pushed Tristan off of him.

" What the hell is your problem?" he said scowling. Tristan moved away, still a little shaken, and studied the boy before him.

" Do I know you?" he asked. Kaiba rolled his eyes and brushed himself off.

" Cute," he said sarcastically. " As if you could really forget me." He moved a hand to his head as if it would make the internal pain go away. " What was the big rush anyway? It better be something like a fire because if you say something stupid like you heard a noise, I might just have to…" he stopped when he noticed Tristan still staring at him intently. " What?" he asked rudely. " Look. I know you're Joey's friend but that doesn't make you anywhere close to mine and it certainly doesn't give you the right to stare at me like that."

" Who's Joey?" Tristan asked intrigued. He moved closer as if knowing the answer would save his life.

" You're really starting to annoy me. Oh wait, nevermind, you never stopped." Kaiba stood up and looked around, trying to decide which way to go.

" I don't think I like you," Tristan said, also standing.

" I know I don't like you so I guess we're even." Tristan looked down and sunk into deep thought. ' There has to be something that I know.'

" I just wish I could remember…" he whispered out loud. Kaiba seemed to be ignoring him, more concerned with whether or not his head was the only thing that hurt.

Kill him… 

Tristan looked around confused.

" What?" He looked at Kaiba, who was still ignoring him.

Kill him. You know you want to. Just do it. Nobody else will know… 

Kaiba turned and glared at him.

" I told you to stop staring at me like that," he snapped. " Do you need a tutorial?"

Kill him. You have it in you I can feel it. Can't you? 

" I knew the mutt had strange friends but I didn't know that they were all obsessed with me. As much as I'd like to just leave you here, it seems smarter to stick together so I'm going to have to ask you to…" Suddenly Tristan pounced, feeling the hatred and anger take him over. He no longer thought about what was important, he just gave into overwhelming want to _kill_ Kaiba. Kaiba fell back, his head slamming into the ground first, making the pain in his head ten times worse and dazing him for a moment. Then he felt two hands slide around his neck and his breath became short. He kneed Tristan into letting go and then pushed him away, backing up away from him. " What the hell? What's wrong with you?" he said still partially in shock. Tristan growled and leapt at him like an animal and for a moment Kaiba could have swore that he was. There was a fire in his eyes that couldn't be described in words that Kaiba would believe. He kicked the boy down and held him to the ground, cutting off his air with a chokehold. He let him go only when his body relaxed and Kaiba knew that he was knocked out. Kaiba took in a deep breath and tossed the sleeping body aside. " Damn," he said brushing himself off. He looked at the body and then at his surroundings. " I have to find Mokuba," he said, making it his first priority. He debated whether or not to leave Tristan or deal with him with just a hope that he'd wake up with some less threatening intentions. Either way didn't seem like much of benefit for him considering that if he found Joey and the others how upset they would be if he'd just left the boy to die, and carrying him would just slow him down…not to mention the slight, or maybe not so slight, possibility of putting his life in danger. He scowled and stood up, noticing how dark it seemed to be getting. " I don't care whose friend he is," he stated and started to walk away.

" We're walking in circles," Ryou complained loudly.

" My feet hurt," Joey added. Yugi nodded to confirm that his did as well.

" Maybe we should stop for a few minutes," Yami suggested. Bakura glared at him.

" No," he said flatly.

" Who put you in charge?" Yami scowled.

" Well if you were in charge we'd all be dead right now," Bakura responded.

" Just because you slayed a few demons doesn't make you…"

" Can you hear them?" Ryou said suddenly causing everyone except Bakura to look at him in surprise and confusion.

" Hear what?" Joey voiced everyone's thought.

" There's three of them," Bakura spoke for him. Their eyes shifted to the spirit. " They've been following us ever since we picked up blondie. They started to close in a few minutes ago. They're trying to surround us."

" They're following me?" Joey asked confused. Bakura fought the urge to hit him.

" You've been hanging out with that self-centered rich boy too much."

" Hey! He is not… I didn't… I… I am not self-centered," Joey crossed his arms and pouted. Ryou leaned over and whispered to Yugi.

" Shouldn't we be more concerned about whatever's following us?"

" I don't know. Bakura seems pretty calm considering that he knew they've been following us for some time and he didn't say anything. Maybe they're harmless," Yugi returned. Ryou went quiet, choosing not to respond.

" You KNEW they were following us for THAT long and you didn't SAY anything?" Yami said, not hiding his anger very well. " What's wrong with you?" Yugi frowned as the two spirits got into another argument. Ryou and Yugi sunk back a little away from the group. Yugi sighed.

" I don't think I like this game," he said.

Mokuba lay next to something warm and smiled thinking he was waking up at home.

" A dream," he whispered, but when he opened his eyes and turned around, expecting to see his brother…he came face to face with… " Tea?" He screamed and scrambled away from her as quickly as he could. " Oh. My. God. Ewww. I just touched…" he shook his head and wiped at his clothes. " That's so gross." He made a face of disgust. Then Tea started to stir, which made him slid a little farther away. She pushed herself up and rubbed at her eyes, then opened them.

" Mo…Mokuba?" she asked as her eyes started to focus. " What's going on?" She looked around and then frowned. " Oh. Right. How could I forget?" She rolled her eyes annoyed at her stupidity and then looked back at Mokuba. " Are you okay?" she asked. He managed a nod and then inched his way back over to her.

" Are you?" he asked. She looked herself over.

" Yeah, I think so. Things seem different here," she tried to find a way to explain why her body didn't hurt as much as it had when they were in the real world. Mokuba didn't take that meaning of the sentence.

" You can say that again," he said looking at where they were. They seemed to be on a mountain. There was a lake at their backs and a canyon with a rope bridge at their right. Straight ahead was a seemingly never-ending patch of trees. When Mokuba turned back Tea brushed his hair aside and the movement made him recoil and move away again.

" I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanted to get a better look at that cut on your head," she said disappointed. Mokuba's eyes went up as if he could see it and he touched a hand to his forehead, only to withdraw it again when pain shot through his nerves. He looked at the blood that reddened his fingertips and Tea smiled at the face he made. She moved to help him again but he pushed her away.

" I can take care of it myself, thank you," he said indignantly. She shook her head.

" Just like your brother. You know, it doesn't hurt to ask for help every once in awhile." He ignored her and stood up, walking over to the lake. Tea followed not wanting him to get too far away. " So what do you think this game is supposed to be? Like Survivor or something?" she asked hoping to start a friendly conversation. Mokuba didn't respond, caught up in his reflection in the water. He reached a hand down to touch the surface but something jumped out at him and he fell back in surprise. Tea reacted by pushing him further away from the water's edge as fast as she could, then curling up in pain, realizing that maybe she wasn't as fine as she'd first thought. Mokuba caught his breath and watched her as she fought to convince herself that the pain wasn't really there. He leaned toward her to see if she was okay but she stood up suddenly and he fell back again.

" Let's find a way out of here," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him to his feet. She dragged him away from the lake and the canyon and toward the woods before he even had time to protest. They walked a while in silence before Mokuba spoke up.

" Hey what's that?" he pointed to a very strange looking rock half hidden in the distance. Tea looked in the direction he was pointing.

" I don't know but it looks evil." Mokuba laughed.

" You think everything's evil," he said. Tea attempted a scowl.

" I do not!" she protested. " Let's just ignore it." She pushed him in a different direction. He pushed back.

" It might be a way out." He ran toward it. " It looks like it could be some kind of clue. In Seto's game there's this…"

" We're not in ' Seto's game,'" Tea interrupted pulling him away from it again.

" But it could be the same kind. I haven't seen anything to tell me otherwise," Mokuba pulled away again, putting his hands to his hips defiantly.

" Let's just concentrate on finding the others," Tea pushed him forward, away from the large stone.

" Hey, stop pushing me!" Mokuba whined.

" Keep your hands off my brother," the older Kaiba demanded as he approached them from behind. Tea stopped moving and turned around as Mokuba took off running to hug his brother.

" Seto! I was so worried!" he cried happily.

" Is anyone with you?" Tea walked over slowly.

" Well I was attacked by a rabid wolf but I left it back there," Kaiba said, pointing in the direction he'd come from.

" Joey…" Tea paled a bit. Kaiba scowled at the implication.

" Fortunately no, but he's of the same breed," he said indifferently. Tea started off in the direction he'd indicated. Mokuba followed a little, grabbing her arm to stop her.

" Where are you going? You can't go off alone," he said.

" He shouldn't be alone either. I'm not leaving him out there."

" He's lost his mind. He tried to kill me," Kaiba tried to reason with her, why, he wasn't quite sure, except maybe because his brother was. She turned on him angrily.

" What did you say to him?" she said sharply.

" So you're saying it's my fault?" Kaiba looked at her in disgust and disbelief.

" Well you aren't exactly Mr. Charming when talking to people outside you're social class. It wouldn't surprise me if you didn't hand him the weapon and instruct him to use it just so you'd have an excuse to humiliate him." Kaiba was taken back by her anger.

" I don't LIKE fighting if you…"he started, taking offense.

A scream broke him off and all eyes shot to the direction Tristan was in. Another scream sounded almost immediately after in the exact opposite direction.

" Yugi…" Tea paled again. She looked back and forth in both directions, unsure of what to do. She looked at Kaiba for help.

" You go back there and get him!" she ordered, then took off in the direction of Yugi's scream.

" But Moku…ba…" he looked down at his little brother who smiled reassuringly.

" I'll be fine Seto, let's hurry." He pulled his brother off toward where Tristan was. They found him huddled helplessly up against a tree as a creature that looked half bird and half tiger closed in on him. Seto kicked the animal as hard as he could, sending it flying into a tree away from them and screaming away in a shocked defeat. Tristan opened his eyes to look at his savior. " Are you okay?" Mokuba helped him up. He ignored him and looked at the older Kaiba.

" You…you saved me," he said surprised. " Even after…" he trailed off. " That's…" he paused and narrowed his eyes, that fire taking over again. When he spoke again his voice sounded like it's been taken over by a demon. " That's so nice of you." Instantly, he was attacking Kaiba. Mokuba grabbed his arm and pulled him off and then kicked him in the stomach, stunning him for a moment as he shrunk away, coughing.

" I thought you were just kidding," he said as he and his brother took that moment to escape.

" Do I kid?" Kaiba asked belligerent.

" Sometimes," Mokuba shrugged. He stopped running suddenly and looked back. " But we still can't leave him."

" What are we supposed to do? We don't have anything to keep him restrained."

" So let's make something," Mokuba looked around for anything they could use.

" With what?" Seto joined the search not sharing his hope. He could hear Tristan getting closer, although not very fast, as he had been expecting.

" I don't know. You're supposed to be the smart one. Use one of the belts on your trench coat." Kaiba looked down at his coat.

" What? No. I can't do that. These coats cost me…"

" Seto, do you want to live or die defending your stupid trench coat?" Mokuba looked at him ashamed. Kaiba looked away as Tristan walked into view.

" Hey guys. I think I'm a little lost. Can you help me?" he asked innocently. Kaiba felt a tug on his arm as Mokuba loosened one of the belts. He pulled away.

" I'll do it. You just…knock him out or something," he whispered. Mokuba gave him the famous Kaiba glare as if to say 'yeah right.' Kaiba sighed. " Fine. I know how much you love ruining things." He slipped the coat off and threw it at him, then casually walked over to meet Tristan.

" We were wondering what happened to you," he said trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He only managed to get rid of half of it. Tristan looked toward Mokuba.

" Who's he and what's he doing?" he asked curiously. Kaiba winced at the sound of ripping but didn't look back.

" Nothing that you need to be concerned about." He waited to see if Tristan would change again but he seemed to be maintaining him normalcy. Kaiba scowled. " Be glad that I never really like you." He said and punched him as hard as he could. The brunette fell back and hit a tree, then slumped forward and passed out.

" Nice hit, Seto!" Mokuba cheered. He walked over with the belts and bound him. Kaiba clenched his teeth and shook out his hand.

" Is he breathing?" he asked as if it were the most normal question in the world. Mokuba checked Tristan's pulse and then pinched his nose closed. In response his mouth opened.

" Yep. Remind me never to try and kill you." He struggled to flip the body over so that he was lying on his back. " He's going to feel that when he wakes up," he said eying the bruise that was already forming on his face. " So what now?" he looked up at his brother for a suggestion.

" We wake him up. I'm not carrying him," Kaiba said kneeling beside them.

" Do you think that's such a good idea? He's not going to be happy."

" That's just something we'll have to deal with." Mokuba moved away as his brother started to shake the boy to wake him. Running feet approaching made them both stop and look toward the sound.

" Tea, you try to distract 'em and me and Yami will knock 'em out," a familiar voice called. Tea came shooting out of the trees screaming.

" Why do I always have to be the bait?" she whined. She tripped over Tristan's foot and tumbled down on top of him. Another creature, much like the one that had been after Tristan followed right after. Mokuba covered his face and shrunk down behind Seto when all of the sudden a whoosh sounded and the creature crumbled to the ground with a screech. Tea pushed herself up.

" Oh, my head," she moaned.

" Did I hit it?" Joey came out of the trees next, followed by Yami. Kaiba's heart stopped a minute, looking at how battered the blonde was, but he paled at the sight of Kaiba and moved behind Yami.

" What's going on here?" Yami demanded, noticing Tristan. Mokuba ducked lower behind his brother at the spirit's tone.

" Just taming the wild beast," Seto managed, moving his eyes from Joey to Yami. " Where's Yugi? Tea said it was his scream we heard." Yami scowled and crossed his arms.

" It's best not to bring that up again," Tea said looking over Tristan. " So, why's Tristan tied up now?" she asked not understanding his first explanation.

" Don't trust him. He's not real," Joey spoke up from behind Yami. Everyone looked at him confused.

" He tried to kill Seto," Mokuba said in answer to the question.

" And Seto tried to kill me. He can't be trusted," Joey repeated. Tea moved away from the two brothers.

" Are you sure Joey? He seems like himself to me," she asked. He stepped out from behind Yami and looked at Seto accusingly.

" He's possessed by Marik. He attacked me," he said. Kaiba shook his head and sighed, trying not to let the comments hurt his feelings.

" I can assure you that I'm not possessed," he said. " You're friend here however very well might be. And I never attacked you. This is the first time I've even…"

" Now I know it's not you. The real Kaiba would never believe that anyone could be possessed by anything." Even Mokuba started to doubt, backing up a little. Kaiba looked at everyone in turn and scowled.

" We don't have time for this. We need to find a way out of here before more of those things decide they're hungry." He stood up and Joey backed up a little, skittishly.

" I'm not going anywhere with you until you prove to me that you aren't Marik."

" How do we know that you aren't Marik just trying to throw everyone off?" Kaiba turned on him, not in the mood for the blame game.

" We'll never get anywhere unless we can trust each other," Yami said.

" Tell that to your friends," Kaiba looked away annoyed.

" So the real question is…how can we prove to each other that we're ALL really us?" Joey said crossing his arms, still glaring at Kaiba in mistrust. " You start."

" Fine. Why don't you come over here and I'll prove to you that it's really me," Kaiba smirked in challenge. Joey hesitated.


	58. Undecided

" I'm not fallin' for that," Joey said crossing his arms. " Just look what you did to Tristan." He nodded toward Tristan.

" He's not dead," Kaiba pointed out annoyed.

" Hey, he attacked Seto and he didn't even have reason to. He needed to be restrained," Mokuba said in his brother's defense.

" Stop being such a baby. If I wanted to kill any one of you I would have done it by now."

" What's going on?" Tristan's voice diverted everyone's attention. " Why am I tied up and where did all of you come from?" Tea went to untie him but Mokuba pulled her back.

" What are you doing? He's dangerous," he said. Yami walked over to them as well and knelt beside Tristan to help him into a sitting position. Joey eyed Kaiba and tensed as he moved to where Yami had been.

" He's our friend, he's not going to hurt anyone. Right Tristan?" Tea asked. Before he could answer Mokuba spoke up again.

" He'll just lie so you'll let him go."

" Not this again. Yami, come on. Help me out. Reason with him." Yami didn't untie Tristan or attempt to, waiting until they all had come to the same decision…if that was at all possible. The three of them started a battle over who to believe and who not to with Yami trying to remain biased but still managing to defend his friends while Tristan just sat helplessly, still unable to figure out exactly what was going on. Kaiba took that moment to confront Joey again.

" Where should I start?" he asked quietly so he wouldn't take the other's attention from their argument. He didn't take his eyes from his brother just in case somehow it got out of control. Joey glanced over, the tension growing a little.

" What do you mean?" he asked afraid of what he was going to do. Kaiba looked at him sideways, sensing the fear and then turned.

" I don't know what kind of mind trick Marik did on you but I can assure you that I was not a part of it."

" But it was so real… How can I be sure it wasn't you?"

" What did he do to you?" Kaiba asked not really sure if he wanted to know. Joey met his eyes and smiled a little.

" You were a jerk, just like you always are," he said. Then his smiled faded as he became serious again. " The way you were acting though…it was you but at the same time it wasn't. It didn't feel like it was you." Without realizing it, Joey moved closer to the other boy, no longer worried about whether or not he was possessed but wanting to know if he really was a different person then the one he'd been with before. If he was the REAL person he'd wanted to be there.

" And what about now?" Kaiba asked steadily. He was trying to keep himself from scaring Joey, or embarrassing himself by grabbing him and kissing him right then and there in front of Joey's friends and his little brother but Joey being so close now…

" I want to believe you," Joey said.

" Don't you think that if I wanted to hurt you that I would be?" Kaiba's voice came out as a whisper. Joey brushed his hair back nervously.

" Well I guess…" Kaiba glanced over at his brother and the others to see if they still were absorbed in their fight (they were) then took a step forward to shorten the, already small, gap between him and Joey. Joey's breath shortened and he tensed up again, readying himself for an attack of any kind.

" How can I make you believe?" Kaiba whispered, right next to his ear. He met Joey's eyes again.

" I think…" Joey started but lost his train of thought when Kaiba's hands brushed his sides. The touch was familiar, not like it had been with the other Kaiba…but some part of Joey's mind didn't want him to believe. Something was still telling him that it wasn't right. That voice…disappeared when Kaiba pulled him into a kiss that nobody else could have matched. " Seto…" He whispered when Kaiba released him.

" Seto, tell them…" Mokuba turned around then. He stopped short at the sight and Tea and Yami turned to see what was wrong. Tea covered Mokuba's eyes as Kaiba kissed Joey again more passionately, and looked away embarrassed. Tristan made a face and Yami cleared his throat to get their attention. " What's going on? What happened?" Mokuba asked pulling at Tea's hand. Joey felt eyes on him and pulled away, then hid behind a tree when he saw Yami staring. Kaiba turned his back to them uncomfortably and took a minute to recompose himself. " Come on Tea, let me go!" Mokuba whined. Joey started laughing and slid to the ground.

" I can't believe…" He shook his head and covered his face. Kaiba watched him curiously then turned back to face the others. Mokuba finally pried Tea's hand off his face and looked at everyone confused but no one seemed to be talking.

" So…" Tristan said to break the awkward silence. Tea and Yami turned back to him.

" Oh right," Tea said. She reached to untie him again.

" Don't," Kaiba warned. " He can walk. He'll be fine the way he is." He walked over to where they were and pulled Mokuba to his feet, moving him away from Tristan. Joey moved out from behind the tree but kept his eyes on the ground.

" But if some more of those things come back he'll be helpless," Tea continued to protest.

" Yeah!" Tristan agreed whole-heartedly.

" He has all of us to protect him," Joey said, coming to Kaiba's aide. Everyone looked at him except for Kaiba. He smiled, trying to soften the mood. Yami helped Tristan to stand but remained quiet. He sighed and closed his eyes, thinking.

' What would Yugi do?' he asked himself.

" Yami Bakura, where have you taken us and where are the others?" Yugi exploded when he opened his eyes in a room rather then back in the woods with Joey and Yami. His connection with Yami was completely gone and his emotions were all over the place trying to cope with it. Ryou watched him curiously as he seemed to be fighting with something internally.

" Yugi…" he started only to be interrupted by Bakura.

" Well I don't think this is where I wanted to end up," he said ignoring the questions. Yugi set an angry look on his face and started another outburst but Ryou broke into a coughing fit and immediately Yugi looked sympathetic.

" Are you okay?" Yugi walked toward him but he smiled weakly and put a hand up to stop him.

" I've been better but I'll live," he said. He looked to Bakura angrily. " You take us back right now," he said not faltering when Bakura met his gaze skeptically.

" Not a chance in hell. Which is where you'd be if I hadn't…"

" But…" Yugi interrupted. He let it hang, fear standing alone in his voice. His mood shifted again and he looked back at Bakura icily. " Take us back now or I'll…" Bakura raised an eyebrow in interest but Yugi stopped and shrank to the floor, the tears finally breaking through. Ryou watched helplessly while Bakura just rolled his eyes.

" He's still alive," he said boredly, which made Yugi look up, the tears temporarily halted.

" How do you…"

" Because that stupid Pharaoh doesn't seem to want to die. I've been trying for 3000 years. If I can't do it then sure as hell Marik can't. And there's no way he'd let anything happen to your retarded friend either."

" Bakura… That almost sounded…" Bakura glared at Ryou and he stopped.

" So how do we get them out?" Yugi asked, standing back up.

" They're in the shadow realm. Without a millennium item they have to win the game."

" How do they win?" Yugi and Ryou asked in unison. They looked at each other and then back at Bakura hopefully.

" They have to find Marik. It's his game, so naturally you'd have to beat him to get out."

" You stupid jerk!" Yugi exploded making Ryou look at him in shock. " You knew all this and you didn't tell us. And then you just left them to…" Yugi looked away, fighting off tears again.

" If they're smart they'll figure it out on their own. I don't see why I have to be the brains all the time," Bakura growled.

" You aren't. If you were smart you'd…" Yugi cut himself off again, realizing how unlike himself he was being. " I just want things to go back to normal. Marik should have stayed gone. I don't understand how he…" he trailed off.

" Yugi…" Ryou didn't know what to say. He couldn't even imagine what he must be going through. Yugi looked down at his millennium puzzle and traced the outline of the pieces with his fingers. Ryou sat down and sighed, wanting to start crying himself.

" Wait!" Yugi brightened up. Ryou looked up confused. " The puzzle…" he looked up. " You needed me to get out but I don't need you to go back," he explained. Ryou's eyes widened as the realization hit him.

" Yugi no!" he cried as Yugi closed his eyes and concentrated on the puzzle.

" Take me back to Yami." Ryou jumped and grabbed onto Yugi's legs to keep him from going but both of them were sucked into the shadow realm. Ryou snapped his eyes shut as the room darkened all too fast and he was split from his yami as the realms separated their spirits. Fear gripped him immediately and he hugged Yugi's legs tighter, the feeling of aloneness almost being too much. Then it went deathly quiet.

" Where are we?" Yugi's voice came out hollow and distant sounding. Ryou opened his eyes and let go of him, looking around and seeing nothing but shadow and darkness.

" I suppose we're in the shadow realm," Ryou answered, standing up.

" There doesn't seem to be anything here. I thought the shadow realm was supposed to be…" Yugi trailed off.

" This could be frightening for some," Ryou said shivering with the feeling that something terrible would happen at any moment.

" But where are…" Yugi didn't have to elaborate for Ryou to understand. He looked around in search of anything that could answer his question.

" There!" he pointed to something in the distance. Yugi looked to where he was pointing. Barely visible from where they were, was the bodies of his friends, lying unconscious on the ground. Yugi jumped up excitedly.

" It did work!" he cried and started toward them only to run into an invisible wall. Ryou looked around confused as Yugi ran his hand down the wall.

" Are we…" Ryou swallowed, not finishing for fear that saying it would make it true and he so didn't want it to be true. He didn't want any of it to be true but Yugi spoke his fears out loud for him.

" We're trapped," he said.


	59. Escaping the shadows

' Yami? Yami are you there?' Yugi asked through their link. Yami didn't answer and he sighed, shrinking to the ground. He let his hand linger on the glass still closing him off. " So close…" he whispered helplessly.

" They're sleeping," Ryou said absently. He was staring at where their friends were but he wasn't consciously paying attention to Yugi or the situation they were in. He was worrying about Bakura staying out of trouble. Pictures of the world crumbling to pieces under Bakura's rule kept flashing through his mind on repeat. Yugi looked back at him as he sat down and sunk deeper into his dark thoughts of returning to a world of chaos.

" Ryou?" Yugi crawled over to where he was. " Are you going to be okay?" Ryou didn't respond, his stare remaining distant and his face expressionless. Yugi looked down. " This is all my fault. I'm sorry I got you into this." Ryou shifted his gaze to Yugi and put a hand on his arm.

" No. I'm fine. Really. I didn't want you to be here alone." Yugi smiled.

" Thanks Ryou." It went quiet a few minutes and Yugi looked back at the lifeless bodies in the distance, the smile fading quickly. " You're right," he said, thinking about Ryou's earlier statement. " They ARE sleeping. Does that mean that Marik's 'game' is nothing more then an illusion that we were creating in our minds? So was any of it…real?"

" Nothing in the shadow realm is…" Ryou looked up, hope returning to his eyes. " Yugi. The barrier…it's just in our heads." Yugi stood up.

" So all we have to do is believe that it's not there." He pulled Ryou to his feet as Ryou nodded.

" There's nothing real here, so there's nothing that can hurt us…right?" He looked to Yugi for reassurance.

" Right!" Yugi cried cheerfully. He led Ryou over to where the invisible wall had been and reached out a hand to touch it but nothing was left there to touch. Yugi jumped up excitedly and pulled Ryou toward the others.

" So how do we get them out?" Ryou asked. As soon as the words were out of his mouth they smacked into another wall. Yugi turned to look at him disappointed.

" It's our doubt and our fear that keeps us from reaching them," he said. Ryou blushed.

" I'm sorry. Sometimes, I just can't help it." He shrugged and Yugi sighed.

" You just have to believe," he said, turning back to the others. ' Yami. I know you're there.' Yugi concentrated all his energy on making contact with the spirit, who was now so close he could almost touch him.

* * *

" Yugi?" Yami said aloud, causing everyone to look over. " I thought I just heard Yugi…but that's impossible." He shook his head and they all went back to battling over Tristan's sanity.

" This is getting redundant," Kaiba said exasperated. He waved to Tristan as if dismissing him. " Untie him," he said bitterly.

" Seto," Mokuba looked up at him fearfully.

" I'll be fine. Don't worry." He locked eyes with Tristan as Tristan smiled victoriously when Tea untied him.

" Thanks," he said rubbing at his wrists. Tea just nodded in response. Mokuba gripped Kaiba's hand as Tristan stretched out his arms exuberantly.

" Yami, do you think…" Tea turned to find Yami gone. She blinked in confusion. " Did anyone see him leave?" They all shook their heads and gave her looks of bewilderment.

" He couldn't have gone far," Joey said looking through the trees for any sign of him.

" He shouldn't have gone at all. That's so unlike him," Tea said joining the search briefly.

" Maybe Marik kidnap…"

" I think we've heard enough of your Marik ideas," Kaiba interrupted. Joey glared at him.

" I'd like to hear you come up with something good then. Why else would he just leave us here?"

" Maybe he got tired of hearing Tea whine."

" Hey, I do NOT whine! Why do people keep saying that?"

" Maybe because it's true," Mokuba said under his breath. She huffed and put her hands on her hips in objection.

" You little brat! I heard that!" Mokuba hid behind his brother as best he could.

" Hey, watch who you're calling a brat!"

" Uh, guys. I think we're missing the main problem here," Joey tried to bring their attention back to Yami's disappearance but nobody seemed to be paying attention anymore. Joey sighed and took another quick scan of the woods. " Well I still think he wouldn't have gone far," he said before walking away from the group, making sure he was never out of earshot of their fighting. Tristan was the only one who noticed.

* * *

" Yugi?" Yami woke up to Yugi hugging him like he'd been gone for thousands of years.

" I thought…I don't know what I thought but you're here," Yugi said hugging him tighter.

" What about the others? Should we wake them up here or back in the real world?" Ryou broke into the happy moment. Yami took a minute to register exactly everything that had just happened then studied the other bodies around him.

" Where's Joey?" he asked bringing Yugi back into reality. He pulled back and looked around.

" Why wouldn't he be here?" he asked, crawling around Yami in a circle.

" He must be somewhere else. Let's get everyone else back and then worry about Joey," Ryou said looking to Yami. " You do know how to get us out right?"

" But what if Joey's in danger? Here." Yugi handed Yami the millennium puzzle. " You get them out and I'll go look for Joey."

" But Yugi…" Yami started. Ryou stood up.

" I'll go with you," he said confidently. Yugi studied him in awe.

" Are you sure Ryou?" Ryou nodded. " Alright. Good luck Yami. Get everyone back safely ok?"

" Yugi…" Yami started again.

" No. I've made up my mind. I'm not leaving until I've recovered ALL of my friends." Yami nodded reluctantly.

" Then keep your luck. I think you'll be needing it more then I will."

* * *

Joey heard something move behind him and he whirled around, ready to attack if needed. Tristan stood there and just smiled, looking at him nervously.

" I just thought I'd help you out since…" he looked back toward where the others were. " Well you know."

" Thanks Tristan." Joey didn't make a move to continue his search, a part of him was afraid to turn his back on his friend. ' Why does everything here seem wrong? I mean what kind of person am I to doubt all the people I care about?' Joey sighed and brushed a hand through his hair. " So, any ideas?" he asked, looking over Tristan for any sign to believe or not believe his insecurities. Tristan shrugged.

" I don't know. Maybe your friend is right and he just got tired of listening to everyone. God knows I am," he responded. Joey nodded but didn't say anything. He started to turn but something in Tristan's statement struck him.

" My friend?" He looked up in time to see Tristan swing something at him. He ducked and covered his head but the object that was being used to attack him fell to the ground with a clatter and when he looked up again Tristan was gone…and the others' yelling had stopped. " Tristan?" He looked to where the group had been. " Guys?" He walked back to the spot where he'd left them. " Anyone?" He looked around starting to get scared. ' What's going on around here?' He scratched his head and tried to think but his head started to get fuzzy and he closed his eyes trying to pull himself back together.

* * *

" What took you so long?" Bakura snapped when Yami appeared, bringing with him Tea, Tristan, and both Kaiba brothers, all still sleeping from what he could tell. Bakura looked at them all and then growled at Yami. " Where's Ryou and the little runt? I have a bone to pick with him." Yami stood up but didn't say anything. " Don't tell me you LEFT him in the shadow realm." Bakura stepped over Tristan's body to grab Yami by the shirt. " Do you have a death wish?"

" No, but I think you might," Yami returned, unfazed.

" If anything happens to him, I'm going to cut you open and paint pretty pictures with your insides. Do you understand?"

" That might be kind of hard considering…" Yami's face twisted in pain and he pushed Bakura away with one hand, grabbing his arm with the other. He knelt to catch his breath and Bakura smirked.

" Looks to me like I won't have to. Your hikari seems to be doing it for me." Yami scowled and sent him one last glare before disappearing back into the shadow realm.

* * *

" Are you okay?" Ryou asked, helping Yugi back to his feet. Yugi took in a deep breath and looked at his arm, wincing at the sight of blood.

" It's just a scratch. It just caught me off guard. Do you think it'll come back?" Yugi asked looking around for any sign of the shadow that had attacked him.

" I don't know but the longer we stay here the harder it will be to get out. It'll only get worse."

" Then we need to hurry. If only it wasn't so dark," Yugi looked up at the surrounding shadows that only seemed to grow darker the longer they stayed.

" And that we knew where we were going," Ryou added. Yugi brought his eyes back to Ryou. He apologized for his negativity for the millionth time it seemed. The worst part was that Yugi was starting to believe it was hopeless too. He didn't know how much more of the shadows he could take.

" There should be street signs in here," he said trying not to get frustrated or lose the remaining hope he had. Ryou smiled a little.

" I think anything would help at this point," he said.


	60. Finding Joey

Bakura growled and looked at the four bodies in front of him.

" If he thinks I'm going to help them he's even crazier then I thought." His eyes stopped on the Kaiba brothers and he smirked. " He's a hell of a lot stupider then I thought." He took a step forward but Yami's voice stopped him.

" Bakura." Bakura scowled and turned around.

" Back so soon?" he asked bitterly. Yami grabbed his arm and the room disappeared, becoming shadows. " I hope you don't think I'm going to help you," Bakura said shaking off Yami's hand.

" Maybe I'll just leave you here then," Yami said walking away from him. Bakura walked after him.

" It's not like I was really going to do anything," he tried to redeem himself. Yami wasn't paying attention. " If you ask me, I think he might need to let a little of that money go. Teach him that money isn't everything."

" Money isn't what he cares about. It's just a benefit of what he really wants. Besides, what would you do with money? It's not like you'd ever use it." Bakura crossed his arms.

" Just shut up and get on with whatever it is you're doing."

" I thought I was."

" Do you have to respond to everything I say?"

* * *

Tea woke up first, still screaming inside her head at the fact that her friends had abandoned her. Every muscle in her body ached and when she sat up she found Tristan lying across her lap. She pinched his side and he jumped awake.

" Ow. Hey, I told you never to do that again!" he yelled holding the spot where she'd pinched him.

" Sorry," she shrugged. " It's just the first thing I thought of. Can you…get off me now?" He looked down and blushed then moved away from her. She shook out her legs.

" I had the strangest dream…" Tristan started, then he noticed Kaiba and Mokuba. He looked around the room. " Where are we?"

" I don't know but we're a few bodies short," Tea answered. Tristan looked at her like she was insane and remembering how he'd acted toward Kaiba in the shadow realm he started to wonder if they were really out of there or not. " I _mean_, not everyone's here," sTeasaid when she saw his face. She hit him to make the thoughts go away.

" Sorry. It just sounded…" she glared at him and he stopped. " My head's still kind of fuzzy," he changed the subject, touching a spot on his forehead. " It feels like someone's still in it, like, talking to me." It was Tea's turn to give him a look.

" We call that going crazy," she said. " Just don't start listening to them or I'll have to call the mental hospital." Tristan scowled.

" Very funny," he said sarcastically. " But I wasn't joking." He looked at the older Kaiba again. " Once you've felt that vengeance and let it take over, it's hard to get rid of. I can see how a killer can easily become a serial killer." He looked back at Tea hoping that he wasn't scaring her.

" But you never killed anyone."

" He wanted to," Kaiba grunted making both of them jump. He pushed himself up and forced his eyes open, despite the horrific headache he had. They watched him wordlessly as he looked over his brother quickly and then stood up. He pulled out his cell phone and started to dial a number. " I don't know what just happened but I'm not going to sit around and let it happen again." He turned his back to them.

" Seto?" Mokuba said weakly. " Is that you?" Tea smiled as he woke up.

" How are you feeling?" she asked. Mokuba looked at her a minute as if giving his brain time to register who she was.

" You didn't ask me how I was feeling," Tristan said, crossing his arms. Tea hit him again.

" I need the location of a Marik Ishtar." Kaiba's voice made Mokuba look up at his brother.

" Seto, what's going on? Why are you looking for Marik and not…"

" Because they're not here and Marik is the only one who can get us to them," Kaiba explained. He went back to the person on the phone. " I don't care HOW you find him, just do it!" He hung up. " Let's go Mokuba." Mokuba rushed to his feet and followed his brother out the door.

" He doesn't waste any time," Tristan said looking to Tea to see what she was going to do. She was already out the door after them. Tristan sighed and followed.

* * *

" Wake up!" an angry voice ordered. Water came next. Joey sneezed and spit, then shook his head like a wet dog. He opened his eyes when he realized that he couldn't move.

" What the hell?" he asked, looking down at the chair he was tied to. He looked up and came face to face with Marik, who was seated backward on a chair a few feet in front of him. He had his chin resting on his arms, which were crossed over the back of the chair. A table was next to him with a large amount of rope and two knives lying on it. The rest of the room was empty with only one door as an exit. Marik smiled as Joey attempted to break free of the ropes holding him down.

" Not so tough now, are we?" Joey stopped the struggle and looked at him crossly.

" Only a coward would do something like this," he spat out. Marik laughed and dropped his arms, sitting up straight.

" But it's so much fun watching you squirm. Did you have a nice dream? I mean I know it wasn't perfect but I thought I had Kaiba down pretty well at the end. You almost believed it didn't you?" Marik laughed again.

" You bastard," Joey growled. Marik sighed.

" Well I guess it would be wrong to take all the credit. A part of him was really in there. You were just so much fun to play with. I almost regret having to kill such a lively one," he said with a smirk.

" Besides the fact that you're an asshole, why me? I thought Yugi was the one you were angry with." Marik shrugged.

" I'll have my revenge on him soon enough. In fact, he's on his way right now. If he doesn't get lost he may even make the show." Marik knocked the chair he was sitting on over as he stood up. Joey tensed as he walked over and grabbed Joey's chin. " You're just here for pure amusement. I've never met a mortal who could match my power…well, almost anyway." He let go and walked around him, stopping somewhere behind him. Joey had to hide his nervousness at having the dark spirit out of sight. " So, should I kill you now or wait for the audience to arrive?" Joey closed his eyes as Marik slid his arms around Joey's chest and set his chin down on Joey's shoulder.

" Can we not do this at all?" Joey asked hopefully, not hiding his disgust very well. Marik smiled.

" Where's the fun in that?" he whispered precociously.

" Let him go, Marik." Marik's smile faded and he stood up straight, releasing Joey to cross his arms. Free from the contact Joey opened his eyes. His face brightened at the sight of Yami in the doorway.

" Pharaoh," Marik greeted ungratefully. " How nice of you to join us." He put his hands on the back of Joey's chair but made no move to attack or use him for a shield or anything. Yami held his ground as well, never breaking eye contact with Marik. " How are you liking the world you gave to me?" Marik asked waving his arms out to indicate everything around them. Yami crossed his arms, ignoring the question.

" How did you regain control of the real Marik? When I banished you I banished ALL of you."

" Bakura isn't the only one who knows how to get what he wants when the odds are against him. There's always some way around things. I was disappointed to return and see that he'd much rather be your friend then help rid the world of you."

" I resent that. We're far from friends," Bakura snapped, stepping out from behind Yami. Marik's face brightened.

" Ooo, a party. Oh how much fun this will be." He clapped his hands together in mock excitement. " Too bad you weren't invited." Marik moved away from Joey and snapped his fingers. Something large dropped down from the ceiling, aimed at where Bakura was. Yami pushed him out of the way then tried to escape himself but didn't quite make it, the object bringing him to the ground and knocking him out. Bakura pulled away from the wall that Yami had pushed him into and wiped spit from his lip with a scowl.

" You'll regret that," he said, angry at the fact that Yami had helped him more then at Marik for trying to kill him. Marik raised an eyebrow in amusement.

" But I thought he wasn't your friend," he said acting innocent. Bakura growled.

" He's not but he's mine to kill." Bakura started toward him and Marik didn't even flitch.

" I guess you forgot. You're in my world now," he said. He snapped his fingers again and ropes shot up from the floor, bringing Bakura down. The harder Bakura fought the tighter the ropes got. He gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, trying to think of a way out. It was true that he had also spent a great amount of time in the shadow realm but he had never been able to control the things that went on there. That either proved that Marik was the ultimate darkness or that he had found a place where the shadows were so weak that they feared him. Bakura hoped it was the second. At least that way there was a way out.

Marik walked over and knelt down so his face was close to Bakura's. " Have you ever wondered how Little Ryou felt when you were beating the crap out of him?" He straightened so that Bakura had to look up at him. " I think you're going to find out…through his eyes. At least I know he'll scream." Bakura gave him the dirtiest look he could muster and spat at him. Marik just looked away, unfazed. He walked over to Yami next. The spirit was still alive and surprisingly, not all that injured, just a bump on the head and a few scratches. Marik sighed. " Just a little too late there. Such a shame, I was so looking forward for a fight out of you. I guess I'll just have to wait now." He drug Yami's body over to the fallen chair. Setting it up straight again he sat Yami down on it and grabbed the rope from the table, tying him to it as tightly as he had Joey tied, only Yami he blindfolded. He looked back at his first victim. " Now. We wait." He slid a hand down the side of Joey's face and smiled then disappeared from the room. Seconds later Joey and Bakura slipped into a deep sleep.

* * *

" How long do you think we've been walking?" Ryou asked, stopping a minute to look around.

" I don't know," Yugi answered. It seemed like an eternity. Yami had been right when saying that time went by differently in the shadow realm. Seconds could have passed that felt like years. He was sorry that he had even been curious. So far they'd only been attacked twice, the first attack being the only successful one. Yugi's arm was starting to swell and he was having trouble ignoring the pain that didn't seem to be going away. At least the bleeding had stopped. " But it feels like we're walking in circles," Yugi added, no longer trying to stay positive.

" I think we are," Ryou said, dropping to the ground. Yugi followed suit.

" How big can the shadow realm be?" Yugi sighed, looking around for anything new to convince him that Ryou's assumption wasn't true.

" Bakura says that it has no beginning or end. Just never-ending darkness…" Ryou paused as if he was going to continue but he didn't.

" Why does it feel like I'm moving when I'm not?" Yugi said in a half whine. " Suddenly I don't feel so good." Ryou watched him as he closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths as if waiting for the sickness to go away. He sensed something wrong about the way Yugi looked and he noticed that Yugi's arm had started bleeding again, even though not very badly. " I feel like we're in a war only there's nothing around us to fight," Yugi continued still not opening his eyes.

" That's not true," Ryou said. " Everything around here is something to fight. Every shadow is some kind of darkness trying to escape to the real world. That's all that Marik is too. He never really left here. Just like Bakura, he left a part of himself there and the real Marik couldn't ignore it. He probably stole the Millennium Rod from the museum and that's how the evil spirit could control us from here. It's just channeling. The only way to be totally rid of the darkness is to kill the real Marik." Ryou looked down, no longer really talking to Yugi but more like thinking out loud. Yugi didn't even seem to be paying attention anyway. Ryou wasn't even sure if he was still awake. Ryou wondered if the real Marik regretted ever listening to that voice telling him to let the spirit take control. Bakura didn't seem to have the same motives that he had before but there was still an evil in him that could return at any moment. He loved his yami more then anything but there would always be a part of him that would wonder just how safe he really was now. Had he really changed because he wanted to or was he waiting until everyone had let their guard down so he could take them before they even realized what was going on? Seeing Marik take his vengeance out now only made that feeling stronger and he didn't like thinking about Bakura that way.

Snoring made him look up and he saw that Yugi actually had fallen asleep. Ryou moved over to him and tried to wake him up but when he didn't succeed right away he thought maybe he should let him sleep. He picked the boy up and started to carry him in whatever direction his feet would take him.


	61. So this is goodbye

-Rewrite- Hope it's better then the last one…

" Where are we going?" Mokuba asked after the older Kaiba had retrieved his briefcase and they were walking toward the limo that had been instructed to pick them up. Kaiba didn't answer as he opened the door, not waiting for the driver, and ushered his brother in. Tea and Tristan ran up after them.

" Wait! What about us?" Tea asked breathlessly. Mokuba looked back at them and then up at his brother as they waited for an answer. Kaiba remained expressionless and indicated that Mokuba should just get in.

" I didn't bring you so I'm under no obligation to take you home," he said.

" What?" Tea asked in disbelief. " Are you crazy? They're our friends too you know. It wouldn't hurt you to be nice once in awhile." Kaiba rolled his eyes.

" Fine. If it'll shut you up." Tea opened her mouth to protest but Tristan quickly covered it with his hand and pushed her into the car. Kaiba watched him suspiciously as he crawled in behind her. Kaiba took a deep breath, wondering how much he was going to regret this, then got in after them. Tristan was already playing with the door to the icebox. He stopped when he caught Kaiba watching him displeased. Mokuba bit his lip as a silence set in and no orders were given. He looked out the window as if for confirmation that they hadn't started moving then turned back to his brother questioningly.

" Seto?" he said, knowing that it was enough for Kaiba to understand, but Kaiba didn't answer right away, caught up in thoughts of how he should. To tell the truth, he was just as clueless as his staff and he didn't know Marik all that well to get into his head.

" So…why aren't we moving?" Tristan asked, his gaze also lingering on the two unmoving buildings outside. Kaiba glared at him for disturbing his concentration but he kept all his comments to himself. He pushed a button on the consol above his head and the limo started off. He ran everything that had happened before they'd disappeared through his head until a thought occurred to him. He pushed another button.

" Yes?" the driver awaited his orders.

" Kaiba Mansion," Kaiba replied, hoping that they hadn't been gone for too long.

" Yes sir." The connection was disconnected. Mokuba watched his brother curiously but didn't say anything, trying to figure out the older Kaiba's thoughts on his own, but Tristan asked the question for him.

" I thought we were looking for Marik?" he said exchanging confused looks with Tea.

" We are," Kaiba said, which only made them more confused.

* * *

It didn't take Bakura long to wake himself back up and slip free of the ropes holding him down. Without Marik as a direct threat they seemed to have lost their motivation, not as willing to restrain him as they had been before. In a way, they were just as afraid of Bakura as they were of Marik. Both seemed a little bit too confident and dangerous to be kept from getting what they wanted. Bakura's knife was motivation too. The ropes slid away and disappeared the same way that they had come. Bakura looked around, trying to pick up on Marik's spirit but either he wanted Bakura to escape or he really was gone because he didn't seem to be doing anything to stop him. He walked over to where Yami sat unconscious and with one swift movement the ropes around him dropped to the floor. Bakura scowled at the sleeping spirit. 

" Don't take this the wrong way, pharaoh," he said making the last word sound repulsive. " I still hate you." He kicked the chair over, spilling Yami to the floor with a groan but before he could move to remove the blindfold Bakura slipped out the door unnoticed. Yami crawled away from the chair and looked around. When he spotted Joey he quickly moved to wake him up.

" Joey?" he said shaking Joey's head. Joey's head rolled to the side and he started to drool a little. Yami made a face but didn't give up. " Joey, come on. You have to wake up."

" Not today, it's Saturday," Joey mumbled before making a whining sound.

" Actually I think it's Thursday," Yami said confused. He shook his head, finding it unimportant and moved around behind Joey to untie him. " Marik will be back any minute and we need to find Yugi." Joey yawned and sighed, mumbling something that didn't quite make sense and blinking himself awake. Still in a daze he looked at the fallen chair in front of him.

" Where's Yami?" he asked absently. His arms dropped as the ropes released him and he stretched them out.

" I AM Yami," Yami said walking back into view. Joey smiled.

" Oh." He broke into a laugh. " So you are. How are you? How'd you get out? And…where's Bakura?" His eyes moved to the spot where Bakura had been.

" Bakura?" Yami followed his gaze. " He wasn't…"

" Wait!" Joey shot to his feet, reality finally reaching him. " We have to get out of here and find Yugi!"

* * *

Yugi shifted in Ryou's arms and Ryou had to put him down so he wouldn't lose his balance or drop him. 

" Yugi?" he asked as Yugi opened his mouth… But no sound came out. Yugi shuddered as if he was cold and then his body went motionless. " Yugi?" now only a half whisper. He was afraid to touch him to see if he were still alive for fear that he wouldn't be. But then, Yugi opened his eyes. He smiled and looked around.

" I'm really…wait…" He frowned." I'm still here." He turned to study Ryou, who was eyeing him curiously, unsure of how to react to Yugi's quick recovery. " We should go home," Yugi said before standing up.

" But what about Joey?" Ryou looked up at him, this new suggestion just as confusing as the recovery.

" Joey can take care of himself. I can't think with all these shadows…it's torture…" Yugi put a hand to his head like he had a headache. Ryou stood up and watched him, still uncertain. He shook his head.

" I know this has been hard for you but we're not leaving without him. We promised…"

" Ryou, get over here!" Ryou looked away from Yugi toward the voice.

"…Bakura?" he asked, even more confused then before. Yugi's eyes widened as the spirit walked over and he tried to hide behind Ryou.

" Don't let him hurt me," he whispered. Ryou looked back at him.

" It's just Bakura. He's not going to…" Bakura shoved Ryou out of the way and grabbed Yugi by the collar of his shirt.

" Let him go!" he yelled right in Yugi's face, making him wince. Ryou rushed back over and grabbed onto Bakura's arm.

" What are you doing? Stop it!" Bakura just shook him off and narrowed his eyes at Yugi. He slipped his knife under Yugi's chin before Ryou even saw his hand move and all Ryou could do was watch in fear.

" Let him go now or none of us are leaving," Bakura said through gritted teeth. Yugi closed his eyes as tightly as he could and then his body went limp again. Bakura shoved him over to Ryou who just barely caught him before he fell to the ground.

" What's wrong with you?" Ryou looked at him horrified as he scanned the rest of the area, looking for something neither of them could see. His eyes stopped on Ryou and he scowled.

" What do you mean? I just saved his life. And yours, if you'd have kept it up." Ryou looked down at Yugi, trying to see.

" What are you talking about?" he asked not seeing how he'd helped anything.

" There are millions of spirits in here ALL trying to escape. You let your guard down, they will. You of all people should know that. So let's get out of here now." He ripped the millenium necklace from Ryou's neck. " Neither one of you are capable of fending off such great powers. I'm actually surprised you even lasted this long," Bakura snarled, stressing the word you. He grabbed Ryou's arm but before he could get them out, Marik showed up.

" Leaving without saying good-bye? How very rude." Marik ripped Yugi from Ryou's arms but before Ryou could do anything in retaliation, Bakura pulled him back and they disappeared. Marik huffed then shrugged it off. " No matter. I have what I want anyway." He looked down at Yugi with a smirk.

* * *

" Mokuba, stay here," Kaiba ordered as they pulled up to the mansion. Mokuba started to protest but one sharp look from his brother made him withdraw. 

" What do we do?" Tea asked. Kaiba ignored her and climbed out of the car. He held his breath and looked around the grounds for any sign of anything abnormal. He wasn't sure exactly how great security would be against a terror like Marik but seeing as how Yugi had gotten in and Mokuba had gotten out unnoticed earlier, chances were that they weren't too good. He made a mental note to remedy that when all of this was over with. He was surprised that after all the kidnappings and attempted kidnappings of his little brother that had already happened that it hadn't already been perfected, then again, nothing would ever be perfect. He started toward the front door half hoping that Marik wasn't really all that smart but not allowing himself to fear him if he was. He was too concentrated at keeping his feelings at bay to notice Tristan's approach behind him.

" What are we looking for?" the voice made his heart stop a second but he remained stoic not to let on how nervous he really was, worse now that Tristan was around…but that had just been a dream right? Tristan was the same dumb reckless youth that he always was, wasn't he? As long as Marik had the power, anything could happen…well if Kaiba believed in that kind of thing. As far as he was concerned, Marik was just very good at mind games…so maybe…he was still dreaming. He frowned. Chasing Joey in his dreams was not how he wanted to spend his time. Not that chasing him in real life would be any better. He really didn't like the idea of chasing anyone at all but this was different somehow…but he didn't want to waste any more time thinking about it.

" Just shut up and stay out of the way," Kaiba grumbled as he opened the door. " And don't touch anything." Tristan looked at him annoyed but nodded and followed him into the house. The house was quiet as the two of them crossed the front hall. Kaiba spotted the millenium rod on the floor, underneath the coffee table, in the living room and he looked at it suspiciously a minute, remembering that te last place it had been was the couch.

" Do you think…" Tristan started but he stopped short and his face went blank. Kaiba turned to him, sensing what had happened but unwilling to admit it.

" Another trick," he mumbled.

" You thought you had gotten away," Tristan started evenly. " When will you…"

" Save the speech, I've already heard it before," Kaiba interrupted crossing the living room toward the rod. He wasn't sure what he'd do with it once he had it but he was pretty sure it wouldn't matter. If he had his facts straight he couldn't use it to it's full potential unless it was officially labeled as his and he wasn't sure how easy THAT would be. Tristan moved swiftly after him, grabbing him from behind. Kaiba wrestled him to the floor and pinned him down, then looked at where the rod was.

" It won't work," Tristan smiled. That smile made Kaiba's stomach turn.

" Then fight me like a real man and stop hiding behind other people. Or are you afraid you'd lose?" Tristan lost consciousness and Marik appeared from out of the shadows.

" Fine. I should have known that it would come to this. What kind of duel would you like? Cards? Knives? Wit?" Kaiba smiled and pulled a coin from his pocket.

" Heads I win, tails you lose." Marik laughed.

" You wish I was that dumb." He retrieved the millenium rod from it resting place and watched Kaiba with curiosity as he stood up and moved away from Tristan, keeping his distance from Marik.

" So, what will it be then? Heads or tails?"

" If I hadn't just heard you say it, I never would have expected a resolve like this. Trusting in luck over skill, it's so unlike you."

" You're right but I want to settle this as quickly as possible. And just to be sure that neither one of us are cheating…he'll do the flipping." Kaiba flicked the coin to the back of the room at Ryou who had appeared there. He struggled to catch it and looked at it blankly when he did. " No mind tricks," Kaiba said threateningly, still watching Marik. Marik just sighed.

" What's going on?" Ryou asked looking at the two of them.

" Just toss it," Kaiba ordered. " I call tails." Still clueless as to what was going on, Ryou threw the coin up.

* * *

" I think I heard something," Joey whispered leaning his ear up to the door. Yami pushed him out of the way and swung it open. 

" Do you see anything?" Yami asked. Joey stood up and peeked his head out the door.

" No. Unless that thing…is…Marik, comingrightatus." He slammed the door shut and shrunk down behind Yami.

" Chances are that he's coming here," he said looking at Joey in disappointment.

" I told you we should have gotten out while we had the chance," Joey stood up and nodded. Yami glared at him.

" You were the one who had to make sure he wasn't out there before we opened the door," he said trying not to get angry.

" Hey, it never hurts to be careful." Joey crossed his arms. Yami sighed.

" Okay. We need to think about this. How close was he?" The door burst open and Marik walked in, still carrying Yugi.

" About right there," Joey said, hiding behind him again. Yami looked at the unconscious boy in Marik's arms.

" What did you do to him?" he demanded instantly.

" What?" Joey peaked out. He growled and took a few steps toward Marik. " Hey! Get you're filthy hands off him!"

" I haven't done anything to him. Yet," Marik smiled.

" Pfft. Yeah. Right. And we're supposed to believe that?" Joey looked at him skeptically.

" Just let him go Marik," Yami said, making sure not to move in a way that Marik might not like. Marik laughed.

" I thought I'd never have to hear such a horrendous sound again," a voice behind him said. He turned and Joey took the moment to kick in the back of his knees. Yami grabbed Yugi before Marik went tumbling down on top of him and then moved past him out of the room.

"Kaiba? How'd you get here?" Yami asked confused. Joey joined them before Marik regained his composure enough to stop him.

" Now is not the time. Just get out of here," Kaiba replied. Yami nodded.

" What are you going to do?" Joey asked not moving to go with them.

" Nobody's going anywhere. I waited too long for this," Marik said angrily standing up and moving toward them.

" That's what you think," Kaiba said pushing Joey toward Yami and stepping between them and Marik. " Go Yami, now!" Yami grabbed onto Joey and despite his protest they returned to the city.

" Why did you just leave him? He may think he's God but he's far from it. Take me back," Joey spat as soon as the room appeared.

" Kaiba can keep his own. We need to get Yugi to a hospital," Yami said carrying Yugi toward the door. Joey took a deep breath, hoping he was right, and went after him. A limo was waiting outside. Mokuba ran out as soon as he saw them.

" Where's my brother?" he asked immediately.

" Yugi's first priority. Is everyone else okay?" Joey asked before Yami seemed like the only one who cared about how Yugi was. Mokuba nodded and helped Yami get him into the car.

" Seto had paramedics set up at the hospital. The others are already there. Ryou told us everything. They're waiting." The door closed after the rest of them climbed in and they sped off. " What about Seto?" Mokuba looked to Joey. Joey didn't know what to say ' We left him,' didn't exactly seem comforting. ' We left him in the shadow realm with a deranged psycho' seemed even less appropriate. He looked at Yami angrily but settled on the decision that he just had to trust him…and Kaiba.

" He's…fine. He'll probably be at the hospital waiting when we get there," Joey said, trying his best to make it believable. Not just in attempt to convince Mokuba but also to convince himself. Mokuba seemed to buy it and Yami met Joey's glare. A nod from the spirit seemed to communicate silent words and Joey nodded in return. " I know," he said, accepting the idea that everything would be fine.

* * *

"I'm leaving with a body, I don't care whose," Marik snarled bitterly. Kaiba met his eyes and slipped the millenium rod from its hiding place. Marik's eyes widened and for the first time ever fear glowed in them. " What are you doing with that? You don't have the power to use it." Marik tried to regain his courage. Kaiba smirked. 

" I'm going to do what Yugi should have done in the first place; get rid of you once and for all." The fear finally slipped away as Marik grinned evilly.

" You can't get rid of me. You don't know how."

" I guess we're going to find out then, aren't we?" Marik smiled faded at Kaiba's show of confidence. He knew Kaiba wasn't one to make empty threats and as they were talking he could feel that something had changed inside of him. Something was missing. " You don't own it any more so your powers are useless. Said out loud…I might not even have to do anything," Kaiba said, sensing the hostility in the surrounding shadows growing. " In a way, you've done all the work for me." Marik looked around, paling.

" No. It can't be," He tried to use his shadow powers with no response, which only proceeded to make him angrier. " How?" he growled stepping closer to Kaiba. Kaiba shrugged.

" Let's just say that your other half isn't exactly as strong and demanding as you are. When struck with the right kind of motivation he just cowers like a scared kitten. He's not even that bad of company, quite a charmer. He almost convinced me not to come here…too bad you don't share those qualities." Marik's face twisted into a fierce scowl and he moved to grab Kaiba but Kaiba just nodded and turned his back on him as the angry spirits devoured him. The last thing that Kaiba heard was Marik's screaming.

* * *

Tea, Tristan, and Ryou walked over as Yugi was taken away for immediate care. Ryou had a few bandages himself and Tea was on crutches. 

" He's in the best of care," Tea tried to lighten Yami's mood. Yami just nodded and watched him disappear around the corner. " How are you? Are you okay?" she asked Joey, who had a few bruises but not a lot more.

" Of course he is. Joey's the most durable person I know," Tristan said hanging an arm over his shoulders. Joey winced still feeling the strain of having his hands tied behind his back for so long.

" I'm just tired," Joey said shrugging him off. " What happened to you?" he nodded toward Tea. She shrugged.

" Don't ask, just blame Tristan," she said sending him a forced smile.

" I scared her and she tripped over something and fell into a lamp at Kaiba's," Tristan explained, to which she responded with a dirty look at him.

" You didn't scare me, I just…" she trailed off.

" What about my brother?" Mokuba whined. " You said he'd be here." He looked up at Joey in expectation. Joey smiled uneasily.

" I said he PROBABLY was. That wasn't a definite… He's…"

" Right here," Kaiba announced his presence.

" Seto!" Mokuba ran over to him. Joey looked down uncomfortably then looked at all his friends.

" I'm going to see if there's any news on Yugi," Yami said walking away down the hallway. Tea nodded.

" Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she said. Ryou agreed and they started away.

" So Joey, what did…"

" Tristan," Tea smacked him with a crutch. " Come on," she mumbled annoyed. Joey smiled awkwardly.

" Oh," Tristan said and followed them away. Joey walked over to Kaiba and regarded him shyly.

" Are you…you?" he asked, trying not to sound accusing.

" Have I killed anyone yet?" he asked. Joey smiled and shook his head.

" That was a really stupid thing you did. You don't always need to be the hero you know."

" But he is," Mokuba piped in. " Nobody can stop my brother." He smiled up at them proudly.

" I got the job done didn't I?" Kaiba asked with a smirk. Joey shook his head again in disapproval but couldn't keep himself from smiling.

" So how'd you do it?"

" I just…"

-Flashback-

" It's heads…" Ryou said lowly. Marik laughed.

" I guess you should have stayed with skill," he said picking up the millenium rod.

" Maybe you're right," Kaiba said hitting him across the head while his back was turned. Marik cried out in pain as he lost his balance and tripped over the coffee table, dropping the rod so he could catch himself. Before he could grab it again Kaiba was hovering over him. " So, do you think you could reconsider," he said through clenched teeth. Marik winced in fear, afraid to move.

" I'm a lover, not a fighter," he said as sweetly as he could manage under the circumstances. Then he smiled alluringly, noticing how close Kaiba actually was to him physically. " But I suppose we could negotiate." Kaiba made a face of disgust and moved away from him, taking the millenium rod with him.

" I still don't see what's so special about this thing. All it seems to do is make everyone crazy," he said studying it closely. Marik sighed and sat up straight, straightening himself.

" Yeah, a lot of people seem to want to kill for it…you included. I don't really understand it myself. Maybe it's the unlimited power thing, I don't know. That's what seemed to get me. I mean you have to admit, being able to control people at will is pretty cool." Kaiba thought about this a minute then shook his head.

" Nothing that you didn't earn is…"

" Guys, I don't think this is the time to be discussing…" Ryou started toward them but Tristan groaned and they all looked down at him. Kaiba turned a threatening glare to Marik.

" I'm giving you one last chance to give it to me willingly before I beat the living crap out of you and take it by force." Marik rolled his eyes and shook his head.

" I was going to give it to you anyway. I'm tired of being stalked by that demanding spirit anyway. He used to be fun but now all he wants to do is get his revenge on Yugi. Frankly, I never really had a problem with the little…" Kaiba disappeared before he could finish. He frowned. " Well that was rude." He watched Ryou help a recovering Tristan up. " He didn't even say thank you."

-End flashback-

"…Well, it might be a little too much for you mind to take right now."

" You drive me crazy you know that?" Joey said annoyed.

" You wouldn't like me if I didn't," Kaiba replied. Joey laughed.

" I think you've been listening to too many rumors. You must have forgotten that I hate you," he said arrogantly. Kaiba nodded.

" Good. As long as we're on the same page," Kaiba returned just as arrogant. Joey shook his head, smiling again, then looked down the hallway at where the others had gone. Mokuba looked as his brother and then Joey and back again, unsure of what had just happened but knowing that whatever it was didn't seem to be like something to smile about. He sensed that there was some kind of hidden meaning in the words that passed between them but he was pretty sure that he didn't want to know. He just rolled his eyes and pulled the two of them down the hallway.

" Come on. I want to see how Yugi is too," he said. Joey nodded and the three of them went to join the others together.

Three months later…

" Mokuba! Get back here right now!" Kaiba looked up as he heard Mokuba pass giggling with Joey bounding down the hallway after him at full speed. He stopped short at the kitchen doorway when he noticed Kaiba sitting at the table, with his paper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, staring amused in his direction. Joey was dressed it only his school shirt, a pair of boxers, and a pair of white socks. He blushed first then spoke. " Aaaaa, you didn't happen to see Mokuba come through here did you?" he asked unable to hide his embarrassment. Kaiba smirked and looked him over.

" Are those new socks? I don't think I've seen you wear them before," he said casually. Joey crossed the room and hit him playfully.

" This isn't funny. He stole my pants." Joey looked behind the counters and across the hall but Mokuba was nowhere in sight.

" Really? I thought I taught him better then that," Kaiba acted like he was going back to his paper. " If it had been me I would have taken everything." Joey scowled.

" I'm going to be late for school," he said seriously. Kaiba smiled.

" Well… If we're already going to be late…" Joey put his hands up.

" No. You're not going to pull that one again. I can't afford another detention. Mokuba! Get out here now!" He started to walk back out into the hallway but Kaiba grabbed him.

" Be a good boy and have some breakfast," he said pulling him down onto his lap and kissing him briefly. Joey frowned.

" You mean you had breakfast and you didn't wake me up?" he asked sweetly, wrapping his arms around Kaiba's neck. Kaiba rolled his eyes.

" I was being metaphorical," he said, looking at his paper as best he could past Joey. Joey smiled.

" So was I," he said before kissing him again more deeply. Mokuba shot through the room then and Joey pulled away from Kaiba to go bounding after him again. " You're not going to get away! Where did you hide them this time?" he yelled. Kaiba shook his head and sighed, taking a quick glance at the clock.

* * *

(School bell rings) 

" Joey's late again," Tristan whispered to Tea over a desk.

" So's Yugi," Tea shrugged. " I think they need to stop taking lessons from each other. This is the third time this week and it's only Tuesday. And where's Kaiba? I thought he was keeping Joey in line from now on?" Tristan's eyes moved to Kaiba's chair and he opened his mouth to say something but everything that popped into his head was too disturbing for him to think about, let alone say out loud. He looked at the other two empty desks and shrugged as well.

" I guess some things never change," he said.

" I wonder about Ryou though," Tea said absently, bringing Tristan's eyes to another empty chair. " He's never late."

* * *

" I said no!" Ryou yelled, throwing a pillow at Bakura on the bed. " You know the consequences of missing school." 

" But you're already late," Bakura pouted, pushing the pillow onto the floor. Ryou's eyes shot to the clock.

" Oh no, my perfect record. You turned off the alarm, didn't you? I'll get you back for this," he huffed grabbing his school books and rushing for the door.

" Please do," Bakura smiled slyly. He followed him to the doorway and waved as he continued on down the hallway. " Have fun," he called after him. Ryou turned.

" No way. I'm not leaving you alone in my house. You're coming," he looked at Bakura accusingly. Bakura smirked.

" Make me," He said crossing his arms and leaning on the doorframe.

" Bakura!" Ryou reprimanded angrily. He threw his books down and stalked over to him, pushing him into the room and down on the bed.

" I don't see how this is getting you anywhere faster," Bakura said after moving Ryou into a position where he couldn't move. Ryou scowled.

" Can't you ever just cooperate?" he said sourly. Bakura let him go and crossed his arms, turning away from him. Ryou smiled and sat up. " Just kidding," he said giving Bakura a quick peck on the cheek and standing and darting out the door.

" Ryou, you get back here!" Bakura rushed after him.

* * *

Yugi was halfway out the door when he remembered that he'd forgotten his school bag. He ran back upstairs to get it and Yami pulled him into the room and closed the door. 

" I think you forgot something else too," he said before kissing him softly and handing him his bag and the millennium puzzle. Yugi blushed.

" I'm so sorry Yami. I'll make it up to you, I promise," Yugi said pulling the puzzle over his head. " But right now, I have to go." Yami smiled and nodded before disappearing into the puzzle. Yugi took one last look around the room for anything else he'd forgotten and rushed back down the stairs.

The End :)) oO (crazy smiley) Thankies again!


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